Deputy Prosecutor: Officers' Arrests 'Horrifying'

5 IMPD Officers Charged Within 2 Weeks - July 4, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS -- The fallout is growing in the wake of five recent arrests of Indianapolis Metro police officers.
The sex, drug and gun-related arrests are not endemic of a larger problem within the department, said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, but they have given a black eye to the department, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported. "The officers I've talked to really want the bad people caught," Ballard said. "This is about trust. The public has to trust IMPD, no question about it. I believe they should take comfort in the fact that IMPD is policing themselves. They are finding out and rooting out the bad apples." Jeremy Lee, 30, was the most recent IMPD officer charged with a crime. He was charged Wednesday with felony aiding prostitution and was being held Thursday on $18,000 bond. Jason Barber, 32, was charged earlier this week with selling a firearm to a felon. He was released after posting $5,000 bond. Three officers who were charged with drug trafficking in a federal case -- Robert B. Long, 34, Jason P. Edwards, 36, and James Davis, 33 -- remain held without bond. Lawrence Brodeur, Marion County's chief narcotics prosecutor, dismissed 20 criminal cases earlier this week because of alleged misdeeds by officers. "It's frustrating. It's disappointing. It's horrifying," Brodeur said. "There were a lot of cop shows with dirty cops. I always came in to work as chief of narcotics understanding that was TV -- that was Los Angeles, that was New York City, that wasn't Indianapolis. Unfortunately, I can no longer come to work and think that." Public Safety Director Scott Newman said Thursday that a package of new policies regarding conduct will be introduced within the next two weeks. The intent of those policies is to address integrity issues within the police department.