Council creates panel to investigate sexual harassment claims

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday night passed a resolution to create a special investigative committee to look into allegations of sexual misconduct against city employees.

Proposal 287 passed in a 22-1 vote with one abstention.

Council Vice President Ali Brown, a Democrat, told News 8 she knew about Lauren Roberts being harassed since 2019.

When News 8 asked, Brown said that Roberts came to her as a member of the Indiana Young Democrats. Brown was running for council for the first time in 2019.

Brown explained that she has supported Roberts through this situation and has advocated on her behalf to the Indiana Democratic Party.

“When you are ready to come forward and tell more of your story and tell more people because my whole position is I cannot tell your story for you,” Brown said. “But when you’re ready, I am there to support you. So when she decided to come out and tell her story this year, it was there I am. I am there to support her and there to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Council Member Ron Gibson, a Democrat, was the no vote. “I believe that a former U.S. attorney knows what to do here, and he’s already started the process of making things right.”

Council Member Derek Cahill, a Republican, abstained from voting. “I support finding the truth, but I believe we need the help of the General Assembly to modernize APRA (Access to Public Records Act) to protect the victims in this case.”

Many councilors chose not to comment about any of the ongoing headlines coming out of Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office but some did. Majority Leader Maggie Lewis spoke about the investigation.

“It’s important that we take the time to do a deep dive into what has taken place over the last five years,” Lewis said. “We think it’s important that all of our team members feel safe. That they have an outlet to report any type of inappropriate behavior.”

Dan Boots, another Democrat, explained his support before the meeting. “I think we all agree that something needs to be done and particularly looking forward we need to ensure we have the right tools in place to make sure this doesn’t repeat itself.”

Most Republicans supported the proposal alongside Democrats.

“I think exactly what the proposal intends which is to find out what happened,” said Paul Annee, the Council Minority Whip. “Who knew? When did they know? And to better understand how to fix what seems to be a bad culture here in the city government.”

There was back and forth between members over amendments that ultimately did not pass but would have allowed councilors to have more power to obtain potentially sensitive information.

Both amendments were voted down in the name of protecting the victim’s privacy.

Below is coverage from earlier Monday from News 8.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis City-County Council will consider a proposal to create a special investigative committee to look into allegations of sexual harassment against the mayor’s former top aide.

The council will consider Proposal 287 during its Monday night meeting and it will allow the council to appoint members to an Investigative Committee to “thoroughly examine and investigate allegations against members of the Hogsett administration.”

The proposal came after three women accused former top aide Thomas Cook of sexual misconduct over the last seven or more years.

News 8 spoke to two of the victims in an on-camera interview in August.

The proposal earned a unanimous Do Pass recommendation from the Rules and Public Policy Committee.

That proposal says it would create “an Investigative Committee that contracts with an independent law and/or human resources firm(s) to thoroughly examine and investigate allegations against members of the Hogsett administration and recommend policy changes and further action to address gaps in human resources policy and code; and recommends further immediate action regarding sexual harassment training and workplace relationships.”

So far, at least one council members has called for the Democrat mayor to step down in the wake of these allegations.

City-County Council Member Jesse Brown, a Democrat, called for the mayor to resign in August.

This proposal is set to be discussed and could be voted Monday night.

If it passes, the Committee on Committees on Tuesday evening could appoint members to the special investigative committee.

Statement

“I commend the City-County Council for ensuring that their investigation as part of Proposal 287 will protect the confidentiality of any current or former City employee who was or may be involved in any claim of sexual harassment. In order to create a safer, better work environment, it is imperative that everyone who works for the City knows they can report harassment of any kind without fear of retribution, and that all investigations will be conducted in a confidential manner.

“I remain committed to working with the City-County Council and the entire Administration to make continued changes to our policies and practices, both those initiated by my Administration and through this resolution.”

Mayor Joe Hogsett via a spokesperson

Council creates panel to investigate sexual harassment claims

Council creates special investigative committee – 7 AM Daybreak

Statement

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