INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An early Indiana Pacers tipoff Friday night will bring traffic to downtown Indianapolis at exactly the wrong time. But if the city’s top officer is daunted by the 5:30 p.m. start in the middle of the evening rush, he’s not showing it.

“We’ll just figure it out and we’ll get people in and out of Gainbridge (Fieldhouse) with the Pacers win tomorrow,” Chris Bailey, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department chief, pledged, during “Coffee with the Chief” on WISH-TV’s Daybreak. “I guarantee it.”

The wide-ranging conversation swung from the Pacers to other pressing topics, including the current push to recruit more officers through a district-by-district approach.

“It’s working really well,” Bailey says, talking about open houses inviting all who are interested in the profession. “We had one at North District about a week and a half ago. 11 individuals showed up. Of those 11, five applied… So that’s a pretty good return on investment, in my opinion. It costs the city nothing.”

Southeast District is holding a recruiting event on Thursday from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at 1150 Shelby Street.

Bailey urges everyone to spread the word.

“If they have a loved one, a spouse, a significant other, a parent that wants to hear what it is to what it’s like to be a police officer, they can bring them with them as well.”

Chief Bailey also took time to tout 13 current officers who are newly trained drone pilots.

“We’re one of the only major cities that do not have a helicopter, and it’s a very expensive endeavor to have a helicopter,” Bailey explains. “And so we’ve improvised. So we’re utilizing drones, decentralized drones within the trunks of our officers, police cars. So if we have a missing person, or if someone has run (from) us, or we need to get a view of something to help keep our community and our officers safe. That’s what the purpose of these drones are.”

Bailey also says the recent re-emphasis on enforcing state curfew laws is going well, with few conflicts so far.

“We’ve taken no one into custody for a curfew since it was announced. We’re not taking it off the books as a tool available to our officers as we move into the summer, but I do want to say I appreciate our youth, and, I appreciate their parents and guardians, for respecting the message and understanding that this is not about criminalizing our children. It’s about protecting our children. We had seven of our kids shot a few weeks ago. That’s what we’re trying to prevent. We’re not trying to criminalize people.”