The semi-annual Police Merit Commission meeting is an opportunity for the Chief of Police to update the commission members on what is happening in the department, and the December 22nd session was no exception

Chief Ed Gebhart reviewed the impact of funding approved by the Indiana General Assembly for a regional illegal firearms task force encompassing Indianapolis and the surrounding counties.

If you have noticed more motorists speeding in the City of Fishers, the Police Department has noticed this as well.  The department is looking to focus even more on speeders in 2022.

School Resource Officers (SROs), uniformed officers assigned to Hamilton Southeastern Schools, are a key part of Chief Gebhart’s focus on keeping local schools safe.  His department partnered with the schools to present an online Town Hall recently, focusing on school safety and how threats are handled by the schools and law enforcement.

The Chief talked about increasing the number of license plate readers in Fishers.  There are currently ten such readers.  He is reaching out to HOAs for interest in placing these readers in neighborhoods as a safety features.  The cost of a reader starts at $2,500.  Gebhart emphasized this is not “Big Brother” technology.  Even though the system records all license plates, police can only access the system looking for license plates tied to criminal investigations.

There were protests held in Fishers, as in most places, in 2020, and Gebhart told the commission he and his officers are learning how to better prepare for such events and tactics to keep them as peaceful as possible, working with other city departments.

Fishers Police will be hiring two civilian employees through money generated by task force funds – an intelligence analyst and a forensics expert.  The city budget for 2020 calls for three more sworn officers to be added.

The Police Merit Commission members, as listed on the Fishers Web site, are Bryan Babb, Tiffany Sharpley, Gary Bolenbaugh, Warren Henderson, and Jim White.  The main responsibility of the commission is to administer discipline to department members, including suspension, demotion, and termination of employment.  If there are no disciplinary matters, the chief provides a briefing on the department about current issues.  There have been no disciplinary matters before the commission in recent memory.