Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart has issued a statement Thursday responding to a formal complaint filed against Fishers officers that there was racial profiling of an African American driver.  Gebhart says the internal investigation found “officers responded in accordance with department policy and procedure.”

Gebhart says the investigation reviewed officer body worn cameras, in-car cameras, retail videos from the incident, dispatch radio traffic and CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) notes, the 911 call, case report and narratives.

The incident involved was related to a report of a disturbance at Walmart 8300 E. 96th Street on Friday, April 21st.  Dustin Martin, who police report as the other party in the reported disturbance, was arrested May 7th “to be held accountable for his actions,” per the Chief’s statement.

“Currently, the individuals involved in this matter have not responded to the department’s offers to meet and discuss the incident in detail and review all associated videos,” Gebhart said in his statement . “The Fishers Police Department and the City of Fishers will share all facts and evidence in the proper venue as a Tort Claim notice has been received, and a criminal case is pending with the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.”

“The Fishers Police Department remains committed in our continued efforts to be transparent with our actions, decision-making, and communication,” the Chief says in the statement.

Below is Chief Gebhart’s full statement:

The Fishers Police Department remains committed in our continued efforts to be transparent with our actions, decision-making, and communication.  The Fishers Police Department initiated an internal review of our officers’ actions involving a disturbance at Walmart 8300 E 96^th Street on April 21, 2023, after becoming aware of Mr. Bunnell’s displeasure regarding his contact with police via a social media post.

Members of the police department began working to identify the other involved party to the disturbance and Dustin J. Martin was later identified and contacted by Fishers Police Department on April 24, 2023.  A case was presented to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office for review, and an arrest warrant was issued.  Dustin Martin was arrested on the warrant on May 7, 2023, to be held accountable for his actions. 

The Fishers Police Department received a formal complaint from Mr. Bunnell on April 25, 2023, and conducted a formal complaint investigation of the facts, circumstances, and information surrounding the incident in question. The internal review of all information (officer body worn cameras, in-car cameras, retail videos from the incident, dispatch radio traffic and CAD notes, the 911 call, case report and narratives) confirmed officers responded in accordance with department policy and procedure.

Currently, the individuals involved in this matter have not responded to the department’s offers to meet and discuss the incident in detail and review all associated videos. The Fishers Police Department and the City of Fishers will share all facts and evidence in the proper venue as a Tort Claim notice has been received, and a criminal case is pending with the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

It doesn’t take much to get rumors started, so I often look to run down rumors I see or hear and try to determine whether they are true or not.

There has been some talk on social media in the area in recent days about removal of some signs at the site of the new Andretti Racing Team headquarters site in Fishers.  What does that mean?

I asked a spokesperson for Andretti, Ryann Weatherford, about all this.  She confirmed that the signs at the site have been removed, but that was only because those signs “were getting quite weathered.”

“Signage and branding surrounding the area may continue to evolve and change as we work to keep the build site looking its best throughout the duration of the project,” Ms. Weatherford wrote in an e-mail to LarryInFishers.

So, signs may be changing, but plans for a new Andretti Racing headquarters in Fishers are still on schedule

Formstack is a company headquartered in downtown Fishers and has been one of the success stories in bringing business to the city.  The Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) posted a story to its Web site Thursday morning, written by reporter Susan Orr, that says the firm is laying-off “a significant percentage of its workforce on Wednesday.”

Precisely how many jobs were eliminated was not disclosed by the firm.  IBJ  quoted Formstack CEO Chris Byers as posting on Linked-In, ““Formstack is saying goodbye to  -some wonderful people.”

Reporter Orr cited laid-off employee Linked-In posts indicating  “the cuts spanned multiple departments at Formstack, including marketing, public relations, human resources, customer service, sales and product design.”  Orr reports laid-off workers posts seem to say 40% of the Formstack work force was eliminated, possibly more than 100.

To read the full IBJ story, use this link. (NOTE:  If you are not an IBJ subscriber, your access to this story may be limited.  Once again, I recommend that you subscribe to your local media.)

After a lengthy public hearing at the Fishers Plan Commission with many neighbors speaking against the idea, the Fishers City Council voted 5-4 approving a rezone of 1.76 acres along 116th Street and Olio Road, nestled between the Kroger grocery store and a church.

Residents in the area objecting to the Magnolia Hair Salon went as far as showing the Plan Commission a video of a Town Council meeting where commitments were made on limiting further commercial growth in that area of the city.

Voting no on the rezone were John Weingardt, Cecilia Coble, Pete Peterson and Selina Stoller.  Peterson cited promises made long ago as the main reason for voting no.  Councilors voting yes argued the city needs to encourage small business.

Housing continues to be a front-and-center issue in Hamilton County, and the local nonprofit HAND partnered with other local groups, including the Hamilton County Community Foundation, to talk about the issues in a local housing conference.  The discussions centered on the need for affordable housing within the local workforce.

Community organizations agreed that there is a “widening gap between household incomes and housing costs.”

The conference, held May 3rd at the Embassy Suites in Noblesville, featured local developers discussing how they navigate obstacles like high land costs and restrictive zoning ordinances.

Hamilton County Commissioner Christine Altman provided a brief update on the county’s plans to invest $5 million in federal ARPA funds to acquire land and build infrastructure for what she described as an “attainable housing development.”

The HAND news release about this conference contains the following fact:  “In 2023, Hamilton County has had more million-dollar home sales (58) than home sales under $200,000 (38).”  That provides some context into how difficult it can be to work in Hamilton County and find affordable housing.

Fishers, like many other cities its size, grapples with the issue of handling commercial business location calls for help from public safety (police, fire or emergency services).

The Fishers City Council gave first reading approval Monday night to a new public nuisance ordinance aimed at addressing this issue.  If final approval is provided by the Council, this measure will be effective August 1 of this year.

When (and if) the ordinance is in place, a commercial operation in Fishers with 7  calls for service, complaints and/or citations in a 90- day period will be issued a warning letter explaining the business, a property owner, operator or tenant, will be required to come in for a meeting with public safety and the health department, if the operation continues to have calls for service, complaints or citations.  Also, the commercial enterprise will be required to enter into a remediation agreement to address the reasons why there have been excessive calls, if they reach 10 calls for service, citations or complaints.  If the business continues to have calls for service, complaints and/or citations, they could be designated as a Chronic Violator and then be subject to a fine of $250 for each call, complaint or citation for a period of 6 months.

Only one vote is required to pass first reading, so the issue will return to the Council.

To view the PowerPoint presentation to City Council on this ordinance, use this link.

A Fishers man faces a felony charge of intimidation and lesser counts of pointing a firearm at a person, public intoxication and disorderly conduct after his Sunday morning arrest.  Jonathan Joseph, 21, from Fishers, is accused of pointing a gun at a motorist on Cumberland Road, just north of 131st Street, at Watercrest Drive.

Here is how Fishers Police describe what happened:

“Police officers from Fishers and Noblesville responded to the area of Watercrest Drive and Cumberland Road after a motorist called 911 to report a man pointed a gun at him. The victim told officers he was driving northbound on Cumberland Road when he observed a shirtless man walking eastbound cross the road in front of him. The man briefly stopped in the roadway, pointed a handgun at the victim, and continued walking into the Watercrest Neighborhood.”

Police used a drone to locate the suspect and took him into custody.  Officers say Joseph was  in possession of an unloaded handgun at the time of his arrest.

The Fishers Police Department thanked Noblesville officers for assisting in making the arrest.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District administrators presented school board members proposed changes to student handbooks at a Tuesday morning work session.  One possible change centers on the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The current language calls for disciplinary action for any student found copying another student’s work or plagiarizing, also described as “Academic Dishonesty.”  Administrators are asking the board to add language for disciplining students using AI to create work without permission of the teacher.  School officials emphasize this is to ensure the work is that of the student, not someone else or AI.

“While AI tools can be used for productive purposes, many fear that unharnessed use may lead to increases in academic dishonesty,” wrote administrators in their narrative to the board.

Another change before the board deals with student absences of 10 or more consecutive school days.  HSE officials say they “have seen an uptick of requests for extended absences for family-related issues (out-of-country family visit, funerals, etc.); not uncommonly, these requests are for more than 10 consecutive school days, which constitutes a significant portion of the semester.”

The proposed change calls for students absent from school for more than 10 consecutive school days, whether for vacation or family emergencies (in or out of the country) or for cultural/religious reasons – will be asked to unenroll from the school. The student will be exited as a transfer to homeschooling. The parent should understand that the student will need to be re-enrolled if the student returns to school.

Another proposal would allow students to retake a course only to improve from a grade of C- or lower.  Administrators suggest adding the following language to the handbook:

“When a student retakes a course, the transcript will indicate that the student took the course twice, with the higher academic grade earned appearing on the transcript and an “R” (for Retake) replacing the lower academic grade. This means the higher grade will be associated with the credit and factored in the student’s GPA, while the lower grade will not be included in the calculation of the student’s GPA.”

School officials say colleges and universities in the area have indicated the “R” designation should not count against a student when applying for admission.

Another proposed change is to athletic eligibility when a student is charged with a felony or misdemeanor, or when a student receives an out of school suspension.  The current 3-step process to determine athletic eligibility will become a 2-step process with the current 3rd step now the appeals process for students and parents in disagreement with the decision after the 2nd step.

Another change is a response to students pushing for abolishing final exams.  Administrators said no to that idea, but will now determine the semester grade by counting the semester work as 85 percent and the final exam grade (or culminating activity approved by the building principal) as 15 percent.

A student handbook change is proposed for those of the Sikh faith that wear a Kirpan as a religious article of faith.  Knives are normally not allowed in HSE schools, but a Kirpan will be allowed with the following rules:

–The Kirpan blade is required to be dull.

–The Kirpan is six inches or less from end of the handle to the tip of the blade.

–The Kirpan will be sufficiently secured with a stitched flap so not be easily removed.

–The Kirpan will not be worn visibly.

–Confirmation of Sikh faith via parents/place of worship.

— Students under the age of 18 must be accompanied by parents/guardians when discussing the rules for wearing a Kirpan.

No action was taken at the work session, but these student handbook changes will be considered for board action at an upcoming regular session.

Here are links to the presentations on student handbook changes presented to the board:

Fishers High School

HSE High School

Junior High Schools

Intermediate Schools 

Elementary Schools 

Kirpan discussion

Road rage has sadly become a regular issue in recent years, and the report of a road rage incident has led to allegations of racial profiling by Fishers Police, according to a report from television station WTHR.  This stems from an apparent incident along 96th Street in the area of the Walmart.

WTHR cites a Facebook post and a conversation with the attorney representing the man making the racial profiling allegations.

To read the WTHR story posted to their Web site, use this link.

If you visit Geist Waterfront Park this summer without at least 1 Fishers resident in the car, it will cost you $50 per vehicle for parking on the grounds during the summer season, Memorial Day through Labor Day.  That was the decision of the Fishers City Council Monday.

It was a party line vote, 7-2, with Democrats Jocelyn Vare and Crystal Neumann voting no.

Vare and Neumann argued the fee is too high and is not a welcoming message to those visiting the park from outside the city.  Vare made a motion to lower the fee to $10 per car, but the motion died when no one seconded.

Republicans on the Council said the fee is priced right. “This is a reasonable fee and is charged only 3 months of the year,” said Council President John Weingardt.

Director of Recreation and Wellness for the City of Fishers, Jake Reardon-McSoley, and Mayor Scott Fadness, told Councilors the fee will act as a safety provision, limiting the number of people at the beach and swimming in the lake.  Fadness admitted there is no way to know if the fee structure will work as planned, but this summer season will provide the data as to whether the fee should be adjusted in the 2024 summer season.

Nonresidents entering the park as a pedestrian or bicyclist will not be charged a fee.