INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County sheriff is calling for more oversight of school police departments.
This comes after an Indianapolis family says a teacher encouraged and recorded other students attacking their 7-year-old son with special needs.
That family filed a lawsuit against Indianapolis Public Schools, school administrators and the teacher allegedly involved.
It was the Indiana General Assembly who ultimately empowered school districts to form their own police departments.
Now, Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal thinks lawmakers need to add a layer of accountability to those school police forces in Marion County with a position like a safe schools czar to oversee them.
"What I saw was some shocking video," said Forestal, speaking about a video where a 7-year-old child with special needs is allegedly attacked by his classmates at George Washington Carver Montessori IPS School 87.
In a lawsuit filed against Indianapolis Public Schools, the boy's family claims in the video, you can hear the teacher encouraging the students to keep going.
The incident is so disturbing that 13News is only sharing a small portion of the video provided by the attorneys for the boy's family. 13News has also cut out the audio.
According to an IPS spokesperson, the teacher in the video resigned before the district could fire him and the incident was reported to the Indiana Department of Child Services, something the law requires of anyone who suspects abuse of a child.
IMPD says it's now investigating the alleged incident at the request of the Marion County prosecutor.
Forestal said police should have been involved at the beginning, not just DCS.
"It's not a school administrator's position to decide whether to report the crime. You report the crime and let law enforcement make the decision," said Forestal, who believes state lawmakers need to create and fund a position that oversees Marion County schools districts with their own police departments, making sure they have the same training and follow the same protocol when it comes to investigating alleged incidents like the one at School 87. "It shouldn't happen different at 86th and Meridian and 500 South Meridian. It should be the same."
Forestal believes such a position is even more important in the wake of tragedies like the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, nearly two years ago. Nineteen children and two adults were killed in that mass shooting.
A Department of Justice report after the tragedy concluded it's critical that all police agencies near a school have the same training and follow the same protocol when it comes to responding to a school shooting.
"Who do we want responsible for the lives of our children?" Forestal asked, saying he believes the buck needs to stop with someone who can make sure police forces at school districts in Marion County are accountable for children's safety.
Forestal said perhaps someone like the mayor could appoint someone to this position or maybe it could be up to state lawmakers to decide the criteria and select the person for the job.