Peterson Safety Director Blames Officer Arrests On Lowered Standards

INDIANAPOLIS -- The push to put officers on the streets forced Indianapolis police to lower their standards, and may have contributed to the recent rash of officer arrests, said former public safety director Robert Turner Thursday.

Turner -- who served for six and a half years under former Mayor Bart Peterson -- spoke with 6News' Jack Rinehart by phone Thursday.

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Analysis: The Blame Game

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In an effort to fulfill Peterson's campaign pledge to hire an additional 200 police officers by the summer of 2003, he said standards were lowered at the police training academy.

"They were giving take home tests and, in fact, giving people instructions that they're not supposed to put people out of the training academy because they needed manpower," Turner said, adding that qualifying scores to enter the training facility were also lowered during that time.

The local Fraternal Order of Police union has requested a formal investigation into the alleged lowering of standards.

"If some recommendations were made and then ignored by a previous administration and they were retained against the wishes of the experts -- the field-training officers and the academy staff -- is this coming back to bite us now?" said FOP spokesman Sgt. Bill Owensby.

Five of the 10 IMPD officers criminally charged within the last four months graduated from recruit classes hired during the Peterson administration, Rinehart reported.

The most recent officer arrested -- Patrol Officer Anthony S. Smith, 36 -- was charged Thursday with seven felonies, including rape, criminal deviate conduct, sexual misconduct and official misconduct.

He's one of three IMPD officers recently suspended without pay and recommended for dismissal following charges and allegations concerning their conduct.

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.

In July, integrity safeguards were implemented in hopes of trimming rogue officers from the force, including polygraph testing for prospective recruits.

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said Thursday his office had launched a hot line for the public to report inappropriate actions by police officers and other public officials. The Justice Integrity Hot Line at 327-5437 will be run through the prosecutor's office but coordinated with IMPD, Brizzi said.