Greenwood woman, her mother thwart harassers in downtown Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Chloe Neuenschwander was celebrating her 21st birthday last week in downtown Indianapolis when she said some men tried to grab her.

Neuenschwander said the trouble began when her friends, parents and herself on July 26 were outside a bar in the 200 block of South Meridian Street. Chloe encountered a homeless man and struck up a friendly conversation.

“There was another gentleman who walked up to us with a speaker, and he started singing with us and he ends up following our group all the way down through the (Monument) Circle.”

Chloe’s mom, Krista, who was with the group, sensed something was wrong.

“There was actually six guys sitting at the Circle. One guy actually approached the girls as they were together, and they were going around the girls talking to them, asking them their names.”

Krista believes the men were sizing up her husband and one of her daughter’s male friends before trying to make a move.

Chloe said, “At one point, he looked at another man who was following us and said, ‘I want her. Grab her.’ My mom heard him say it. She ended up causing a scene, and they ended up scattering and that was the end of it.”

Chloe snapped a picture of one of the men, but the rest of them got away.

A spokesperson for Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said no arrests have been made in the harassment case.

Since that evening, Chloe and her mom enrolled in self-defense classes, and Chloe carries around Mace, an aerosol self-defense spray, when she’s out and about.

“My motive right now is just to make sure that especially women and younger women are aware of their surroundings at any point because I truly believe that it would never happen to me, especially with my parents,” Chloe said.