2 More IMPD Officers Suspended Without Pay

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Metro police said Wednesday that two more officers were suspended without pay and recommended for dismissal following charges and allegations concerning their conduct.

Officer Christopher Poindexter, 34, was arrested Aug. 14 on a charge of false informing, a Class B misdemeanor.

Police said Poindexter, who had been an Indianapolis officer since 2005, reported that his patrol car had been damaged in a parking lot on May 5.

Investigators said they determined the information Poindexter gave them was false and that the car was damaged when a civilian IMPD employee, Kelli Ball, 30, hit another car near Indiana 37 and West Epler Avenue.

Police said Poindexter was a passenger in the patrol car when the collision occurred. He was suspended on Aug. 14. Ball resigned from her position with the department's data transcription unit on Aug. 14.

In a separate case, Officer James Ingalls, 40, was also suspended without pay and recommended for termination after an internal investigation.

Police said Ingalls, who had been with the force since 1998, "engaged in unlawful activity with a prostitute," and "engaged in conduct detrimental to the efficient operation and/or general discipline of the department."

Poindexter and Ingalls marked the second and third officers to be recommended for termination within a week.

On Tuesday, Anthony S. Smith, 36, was suspended without pay after a woman told officers that Smith had sexually assaulted her while he was on duty.

Several other officers have been arrested this year on numerous charges, ranging from running a prostitution ring to selling firearms to felons, drunken driving and drug trafficking.

"Once they consciously and intentionally step over the lines of our policies of good judgment and the law, I'm going to be the first person on this police department to do everything I can to separate them from that badge," IMPD Police Chief Michael Spears said Tuesday evening.

In July, integrity safeguards were implemented in hopes of trimming rogue officers from the force.