INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's top cop says state troopers are ready to patrol Indianapolis streets if the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police chief asks for support.
"If (IMPD Chief) Chris Bailey calls me and says, 'I need your help', we're coming," said Indiana State Police Supt. Doug Carter.
IMPD faces an historic shortage of 300 officers. The Indianapolis police union has unveiled Operation Firewall - calling for higher pay, better schedules and state troopers filling city patrol shifts.
"IMPD is tired," said Carter. "They're very tired, and if we can support them in some way to give them a little bit of relief, we'll always do that."
"They know what's at stake here," said Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police President Rick Snyder. "It's our capital city. They know what's at stake. Quite frankly, they have made it clear through their Troopers Alliance that they are just as frustrated and disillusioned as our IMPD officers are as to what's going on in this city."
Indiana State Police has its own staff shortage, with more than 150 state trooper positions currently unfilled. But Carter said state police can and will assist IMPD patrols if asked.
"We all are hurting for people, but we can get a lot of people here in the city in a relatively short period of time," said Carter. "The challenge comes when we when we try and sustain that, because we're going to have to pull people from other parts of the state."
Bailey said his staffing problems have not reached that point yet.
"My team and I have been thinking about what happens when we get to certain points for some time and we're not there," said Bailey. "We don't feel like we're there."
State police are on standby.
"That's going to depend on decisions made by bad people," said Carter. "So, the answer is yes, if those decisions continue to be made. There's so much instability everywhere right now, and if we can help bring a little bit of balance to this, we absolutely will."
Carter said no formal agreement with IMPD is needed and his troopers can step in quickly to supplement city patrols on a short-term basis.
Operation Firewall also calls for a significant pay raise for the police chief and a new fee on event tickets to pay for policing of big events like the Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers games, conventions and concerts.