Chief: IMPD won’t report undocumented immigrants to the feds

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Randal Taylor said Tuesday night his agency will not report undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they are pulled over.

“I will tell you, for the most part, if our officers were to stop you and you didn’t have a driver’s license, you may get a ticket but you’re probably not going to go to jail,” Taylor said during a town hall hosted by IMPD for the Hispanic community at St. Monica Catholic Church.

Taylor said his agency does not have an official relationship with ICE and does not send reports to them.

He also voiced his concern about the lack of Spanish-speaking officers on the force. Only 4.4% of officers on the force consider themselves Hispanic. Efforts are underway to boost those numbers, he said.

Sgt. Randy Diaz, who has been with IMPD for 13 years, said, “Different immigrants have different fears or misconceptions of law enforcement, depending on what country they might be from. This opportunity is great to have conversations with the community.”

Some members of the Latino community don’t trust the police because of bad experiences with law enforcement in their home countries.

Alicia Cardoza-Regalado, who moved to Indianapolis from Chicago when she was young, said, “I would say that Indianapolis is one of the most welcoming cities here in the state of Indiana. I would say I feel safe here and I know that IMPD is doing their job, but I know that even when you see a police officer as a regular citizen it can be intimidating.”

IMPD needs to fill 200 positions. The deadline to apply for the academy is Friday.