The Indiana Publisher

A lawsuit filed against the city of Indianapolis puzzles me. Fifteen-year-old Andre Alexander Green was shot by two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers in August of 2015. The Indianapolis Star reports that the estate for the teenager filed the lawsuit last month in federal court in "hopes of revealing the iden- tities of the officers who fired the fatal shots. The Star story said Green allegedly was in a stolen car and had been blocked in a dead-end street on the near eastside by police cars. Shots were fired when Green rammed a patrol car and nearly struck a female officer who had exited her car to chase down two suspects who had fled the car driven by Green, according to IMPD. They also reported Green held a gun when he stepped out of the car after being shot. The lawsuit though alleges Green made no "aggressive movement, no furtive gestures and no physical movements which would suggest that (Green had) the will, intent, or the ability to inflict substantial bodily harm against any individual or officer." The officers who fired the shots have not been identified by the city, according to The Star account. That's my puzzle. Indiana's Access to Public Records Act at I.C. 5-14-3-5 sets out what information must be made available to the public when police are dealing with an incident where an alleged crime has occurred. This is the police depart- ment's "daily log or report," which must be made available for inspection and/or copying. The information that must be included in this disclosable public record includes: "The time and nature of the agency's response to all complaints and requests for assistance." In English – what officers responded and when. This usually can be traced through the dispatch log for the law enforcement agency in addition to being included in the required daily log. Section 5 also requires the police to include "the factual circumstances sur- rounding the incident." Officers firing their weapons at the suspect would be a fact that should be included in the report and which officers is important as part of the transpar- ency of police operations. The public has a right to know whether the officers involved have a history of using firearms to resolve a situation. Have the officers been disciplined in the past for using excessive force to subdue suspects? If the officer isn't identified, how would the public be able to answer those questions? With the death of Green, there was no subsequent arrest, but the legislature clearly wanted police to be transparent when an arrest is made. Section 5 also sets out require- ments for information to be made public when an arrest is made – including "investi- gating or arresting officer" and "information relating to the circumstances of the arrest …" Transparency helps create trust between the public and police. It benefits the officers when the public can understand the circum- stances that forced an officer to fire his/ her weapon. It benefits the family to know the officers' actions were reviewed. If the actions happen to not be justified, the com- munity benefits by knowing discipline was handed down or training will be improved or if necessary, an officer is fired. So why hasn't the city of Indianapolis identified the officers involved in the shooting? It's a puzzle to me. position The News-Sentinel to serve its readers and the community in the digital era." Maintaining this commit- ment to the unique charac- ter and voice of The News- Sentinel was a priority when considering this move, Christman said. "The principles that have defined The News-Senti- nel's independent voice over the course of its nearly 200-year history will con- tinue to guide us. Engaging, thoughtful commentary on the topics that affect Fort Wayne's citizens has been - and will be — a core part of what we do," added Christ- man. "The Journal Gazette has partnered with The News- Sentinel since 1950, and are pleased our long-term part- nership agreement is in place through the year 2075," said Julie Inskeep, publisher of the Journal Ga- zette. "We believe preserving two separate and indepen- dent editorial voices will continue to serve this com- munity well. As we both drive our in- dependent digital initia- tives, the Journal Gazette will help assure that The News-Sentinel content reaches our large print read- ership as well." Page 4 Key Points Steve Key Public has a right to know identities of officers in shooting case LIKE THE HOOSIER STATE PRESS ASSOCIATION ON FACEBOOK FOR INDUSTRY NEWS, DEADLINES AND UPDATES. September 2017 News in brief The Indiana State Bar Association announced Joe Skeel as its next execu- tive director. He will succeed Thomas A. Pyrz, who is retiring Jan. 5, 2018, after serving for more than 25 years as the State Bar's E.D. Since 2009, Skeel has served as executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the nation's largest and most broad-based member associa- tion for journalists. During that time, he also served as executive director of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the Society's supporting charity. Skeel joined SPJ in 2004 as editor of the Society's member magazine, Quill. Previously, he spent almost 10 years working at community newspapers in central Indiana. He is a graduate of Ball State University. - Indiana State Bar Association Veteran sports editor Jeff Brown is the new editor at The Shelbyville News. Kris Mills will replace Brown as the paper's sports editor. Brown started work as a sports reporter at The Shelbyville News in 1999, becoming sports editor in 2001. His roots with the paper go back to his childhood, as his childhood memories include visiting his mother in the news- paper production area, where she worked for about 30 years. Brown is a graduate of Indiana State University. Mills got his start in journalism in 2012 as a sports correspondent at The Shelbyville News and has worked in similar positions at newspapers in Greenfield, Crawfordsville and Monticello. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the Indiana University School of Journalism. - Shelbyville News Several reporters will be working part-time for The (Portland) Commercial Review over the coming months. Rose Skelly, Julie Valentine and Allie Kirkman will all be serving as part-time employees for the newspaper. Skelly, 21, who was an intern for The Commercial Review last summer, began working part-time for the newspaper in January. She took on a full-time role this summer and has now resumed part-time work as she begins her senior year at Ball State University. Valentine, a 2013 Jay County High School graduate, has also been hired as a part-time reporter. She served as an intern for The Commercial Review during the summer of 2015. Kirkman, who was The CR's intern last summer, will also continue on a part-time basis. She is a junior at Ball State University and is serving as managing editor of the college's Daily News this semester. - Commercial Review SPJ executive director to head Indiana State Bar Association Skeel Digital Continued from Page 1 Veteran sports editor named editor-in-chief of Shelbyville News Brown Reporters join Commercial Review Employee Sought Newsroom assistant/reporter The (Columbus) Republic, an award- winning daily newspaper, has an open- ing for a newsroom assistant/reporter. This is a great opportunity to get experi- ence at a fast-paced and busy daily newspaper. This position requires highly accurate and excellent writing skills, working quick- ly and accurately under tight daily dead- lines and being able to handle multiple tasks and assignments at once. Duties include covering and reporting stories, handling obituaries and writing police and arrest logs, news briefs, nup- tials, religion, school and business news and other daily features that appear in the paper and online. Other responsi- bilities include taking phone calls and handling and coordinating items submit- ted by readers. Extreme organization, exceptional customer service and an ability to keep track of many projects are requirements. Candidates must be flexible, detailed ori- ented, have a good attitude, take direc- tion well, be able to solve problems, be accurate and precise, meet strict dead- lines and be able to work with the public. This is a great opportunity for someone who may be working at weekly paper and looking to move to a daily paper or a recent college graduate. Columbus, population 44,000, is a dynamic and growing city. Send resumes and clips to: ssyse@aimmediaindiana.com. Education Reporter - The Times (Frankfort) serves four school corpora- tions in Clinton County. The education reporter covers what's happening in our schools - from board meetings and bud- gets to art shows and kindergarten con- certs. You'll work in a fun, challenging environment. New reporters welcome but you'll need some experience writing for a college paper, PR company or as a newspaper or online intern. Must write accurately, meet deadlines and be detail- oriented. Full benefit package - insur- ance, including health, dental, vision, short-term disability and life, vacation, sick time. Send three clips and cover letter by July 25 to Publisher Sharon Bardonner; sbardonner@ftimes.com. Sports Editor/Reporter - Small Central Indiana daily newspaper is look- ing for a Sports Editor to cover it's two area communities at all levels. Successful Candidates must demonstrate skills in writing, editing, pagination and pho- tography. Send Resume, samples of your work and salary requirements to Publisher, Elwood Publishing Co., P.O. Box 85, Elwood, IN 46036, or email: elpub@elwoodpublishing.com. Post member and employee notic- es at hspa.com/jobs. Direct questions about posting jobs to news@hspa.com. – bureaucratic inconvenience. "It's a lot easier to give lip ser- vice to public notice and post notice where the public won't find it than go to the trouble of plac- ing a notice in state newspapers where the reward is that members of the public might actually want to attend or comment on an air permit, which would cause the bureaucracy to have to deal with the public," HSPA's executive director said. The last time, HSPA checked, the average number of unique visi- tors who visited the IDEM website where notices are posted was 105 a week. In comparison, the 2014 American Opinion Research survey found that 3.8 million Hoosiers read a newspaper at least once a week. There is no guarantee that every person impacted by a local air per- mit will see the notice in the local newspaper, but the chances are much better with newspaper publi- cation than IDEM website posting. "The opportunity to be involved is the key," said Key. "It's an obli- gation of government agencies in a democracy to let citizens know what is being contemplated, pro- posed or acted upon. The public can become involved or not, but they have the opportunity to hold their government accountable with public notice advertising." "The posting of notices on a government website page that the public doesn't know exists doesn't do the job. Common sense will tell one that the average citizen has no inkling of the air permitting process and should be expected to know he/she needs to periodically check IDEM's website on the chance that there may be a hearing upcoming that directly impacts her/him." IDEM claims the move will save $17,000 in advertising costs, but Key notes that when Hoosiers were told it can cost thousands of tax- payer dollars to publish notices 64 percent still said government agen- cies should be required to publish the notices and 46 percent of adult Hoosiers said they would be less likely to see public notices if placed on government websites. "Government website posting of public notices serves the bureau- crats and special interests looking for permission to emit pollutants into the air, but it doesn't serve Hoosiers who will be left to breathe in those chemical compounds because they'll never know they had a chance to object," Key said. Pubic notice Continued from Page 1

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