INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police announced a vote of no confidence in the Marion County prosecutor and the court system.
This month, members of the Indy FOP held a vote after frustration surrounding multiple cases, including the most recent killing of Elwood Police Ofc. Noah Shahnavaz, where the suspect had several prior convictions including a past incident of firing at Indianapolis officers.
Indy FOP President Rick Snyder said hundreds of officers participated, resulting in a 98.9% vote of no confidence in Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears and a 96.5% vote of no confidence in the Marion County court system.
The FOP membership is made up of officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Beech Grove, Speedway, Cumberland, Airport, Southport, IUPUI, University of Indianapolis, Butler, IPS and Township School Police.
“We got to be pulling the rope here, stopping the presses and fixing this because it begs the question, how many other folks are unnecessarily out on our streets that can wreak havoc like this and who is the next victim?” Snyder said.
Snyder said that currently there are 37,500 criminal cases awaiting trial in Marion County. He also pointed out numerous reduced bonds for criminal suspects and unintentional releases due to spelling or system errors.
“I have never seen our Marion County criminal justice process in the shambles that it is in right now. We have watched countless residents be victimized by this system,” he said.
This is the first time the Indy FOP conducted such a vote. adding he is not sure anyone has in the country and that it speaks volumes to the frustration from officers.
13News reached out to Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears’ campaign team. A spokesperson said, “Our only comment is that the women and men of the office remain focused on their work.”
Earlier this year, the Indy FOP officially supported Republican challenger for Marion County prosecutor Cyndi Carrasco. She is set to challenge Mears in the upcoming election.
“The results of today's FOP Vote of No Confidence in Prosecutor Ryan Mears reaffirms that Mears is unwilling and unable to work with stakeholders to end the public safety crisis. This results in violent repeat offenders continuing to terrorize our streets," Carrasco said in a statement sent to 13News.