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Commentary: Police Escorts: Nice If You Can Get Them

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Commentary: Police escorts: Nice if you can get them

May 23, 2019

By Mary Beth Schneider
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS–Its race day and you’re on your way to the Indianapolis 500.

Or, that is, you would be on your way if only you weren’t stuck in traffic. Suddenly in the next lane, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer on a motorcycle comes zipping by, escorting someone else who is just too important to be sitting in an idling vehicle like you are.

 

Maybe they are that important. It could be the governor. Perhaps one of the drivers or team members. Maybe it’s the archbishop, who has to get there on time to deliver the blessing. Or a busload of band members who parade around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the race begins.

Or it might just be some richer person than you. Someone who was able to buy a package that includes a police escort to the track – a police officer who is on duty and being paid with your tax dollars.

After the 2018 Indy 500 – an event I love despite the fact that I know next to nothing about auto racing in general – I began to wonder who got these coveted police escorts. I contacted IMPD last May 29 asking who could get escorts, who paid for them, the duty status of the officers conducting them and how many got them.

It took several emails and nearly two months to get an answer. On July 25, a public affairs officer for IMPD informed me in an email that escorts are set up “for many people or organizations to include but not limited to” the following groups:

  • Local, state and federal officials
  • Military
  • Sports celebrities and “politically associated persons important to the city”
  • “Longtime community partners that benefit the city/department; police foundation, IMPD motorcycle drill team, PAL (the Police Action League) etc.”
  • Families of officers working the event
  • Drivers and their families
  • Medical personnel
  • Media

I was told that that year about 50 on-duty police officers conducted escorts for about 330 groups or individuals and that the department does not accept payment for the escorts.

I responded the next day, thanking him for the information but saying I found it only partially answered my inquiry since he had said those getting escorts were not limited to the categories listed. So, I asked for the list of exactly who got them.

I’ve never heard back. An email and a phone call this week to prod an answer also went unacknowledged.

This may be why: Google Indy 500 and police escorts and you will find tour promoters selling VIP packages for hundreds of dollars, even thousands, that include police escorts.

Let me be clear: My complaint is not with the police officers themselves. They do a hard, often thankless job, putting their lives at risk to keep this city safe. The police I have known over the years are dedicated citizens who often go above and beyond to protect us, to make our neighborhoods better places. And they do it working long hours for inadequate pay.

But they should not be assigned – on duty, at taxpayer expense – to help a private business make a profit off of tour packages. They work for all of us, not the privileged few. And I’m not thrilled either with politicians who have no official function at the track and who likely are already whooping it up on some lobbyist’s expense account in a suite getting a fast lane to the track, happy to be zipping by all the chumps who are their voters.

Indianapolis has a crime problem. In 2018, for the fourth year in a row, we set a record for homicides, with 156 and we show no signs of slowing that sad statistic this year. Yes, the race and its adjacent activities are just a few days in May. But with a tight city budget and numerous unmet city challenges – from potholes to blighted housing to drugs – this is a waste of manpower and resources.

A few years ago, the city bus service was forced to stop race day shuttles to the track due to a lawsuit. It took away a favored way for many to go the track, and likely increased the traffic jams. How is it wrong to use city buses to benefit many but ok to use city police to benefit a few?

I’d email the city to ask why. But I’m still waiting first for them to answer my other emails.

FOOTNi)E: Mary Beth Schneider is an editor with TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.

“LEFT JAB AND RIGHT JAB” MAY 24, 2019

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“LEFT JAB AND RIGHT JAB”

“Right Jab And Left Jab” was created because we have two commenters that post on a daily basis either in our “IS IT TRUE” or “Readers Forum” columns concerning National or International issues.
Joe Biden and Ronald Reagan’s comments are mostly about issues of national interest.  The majority of our “IS IT TRUE” columns are about local or state issues, so we have decided to give Mr. Biden and Mr. Reagan exclusive access to our newly created “LEFT JAB and RIGHT JAB”  column. They now have this post to exclusively discuss national or world issues that they feel passionate about.
We shall be posting the “LEFT JAB” AND “RIGHT JAB” several times a week.  Oh, “Left Jab” is a liberal view and the “Right Jab is representative of the more conservative views. Also, any reader who would like to react to the written comments of the two gentlemen is free to do so.

HydroPlane Officials Say No Hydroplane Racing This Year

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HydroPlane Officials Say No Hydroplane Racing This Year

MAY 23RD, 2019 TYRONE MORRIS EVANSVILLE, INDIANA

Evansville HydroFest will not feature actual Hydroplane racing this year. The Board of Directors of the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau announced on their Facebook page:

The Board of Directors of the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau voted yesterday afternoon to NOT continue with Hydroplane Racing at Evansville HydroFest. Our Race Director did not attend the meeting nor was involved in the decision. We regret to inform our Fans, Race Teams, Vendors, Volunteers, and Sponsors there will be no Roar on the River in 2019.
The event is expected to kick off on Friday, August 16th through August 18th.
44News reached out to the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive-Director for comment. They released this following statement:
It is the recommendation of the Executive Director and legal counsel of Evansville Events, Inc. that hydroplane racing for 2019 not be pursued. A contract with the hydroplane racing organization of choice has not yet been finalized and it is unlikely that sufficient sponsorships can be raised to cover the costs of the event, thus risking a deficit for a second year in a row.
It is further recommended that the barbecue festival and concert elements already being planned be reformatted into a yet-to-be-named event in downtown Evansville on the same dates. This new downtown event offers the unique opportunity to take advantage of the large crowds attending the Saturday night, August 17 Toby Keith concert at the Ford Center.
While many details are admittedly yet to be worked out, making the change now allows time to plan, market and produce the alternative event.

Senators Braun, Cotton, Cruz, & Rubio Call for Religious Freedoms in Cuba

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – In April 2019, a family was sent to prison in Cuba for homeschooling their children, who were enrolled in a Christian distance school in Honduras free from the state indoctrination of Cuba’s regime-controlled education system.

To express solidarity for the Cuban people in their pursuit of religious freedom, Senator Braun, along with Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a resolutioncondemning the Cuban government’s practice of jailing parents who attempt to homeschool their children.

“Parents have a right to teach their children free from state communist indoctrination,” said Senator Mike Braun. “This resolution calls on the Cuban regime to end the shameful practice of jailing parents for enrolling their children in religious education, and expresses American solidarity with Cuban parents who have become political prisoners for something as simple as homeschooling.”

“The Communist government of Cuba is committed to a system of oppression that leaves no place free from propaganda,” Senator Ted Cruz said. “They are imprisoning Christians who choose to educate their children at home because it’s one of the few places their thugs can’t monitor effectively. It is important that America shine a light, stand with the political prisoners in Cuba, and recognize the right of every parent to educate their children.”

“The Communist regime in Havana knows it can’t survive without indoctrinating the next generation, so it jails Christians who want to homeschool their children. The United States stands with the Cuban people against the regime’s unrelenting persecution of Christians and other political dissidents,” said Senator Tom Cotton.

BACKGROUND: 

The Cuban government has a history of arresting individuals who chose to homeschool their children, sentencing them to prison and hard labor. Cuba’s insistence on state-controlled education is a sign of authoritarianism, enabling them to indoctrinate youth with a communist ideology. The United States stands for liberty and justice for all, and our foreign policy towards Cuba should hinge on Cuba’s ability for democratic reform and commitment to freedom.

CUBAN EMBARGO:

The United States commercial, economic, and financial embargo against Cuba was levied on Cuba in 1958. President John F. Kennedy extended the embargo to nearly all exports in 1962. Congress made this embargo official U.S. policy with the passage of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6021).

Despite the Obama Administration normalization of relations with Cuba, the embargo cannot be lifted without the consent of Congress or through major democratic reforms in Cuba, which would include deposing of the Castro regime.

THE RESOLUTION:

  • Expresses solidarity with the people of Cuba in their pursuit of religious freedom.
  • Calls on the Government of Cuba to release all political prisoners, including those who have been imprisoned for homeschooling their children.
  • Calls on the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to grant the Precautionary Measures requested on April 25, 2019.
  • Calls on the Government of Cuba to recognize the right of parents to teach their own children free from state communist indoctrination.
  • Calls for the continued implementation of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996.

Sobriety Checkpoint Planned for Memorial Day Weekend

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he Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office will conduct a sobriety checkpoint this Saturday, May 25, 2019, from 10:00 pm until 3:00 am.

The location for Saturday’s checkpoint was chosen based on local traffic collision data. Analysis of data captured in May of 2018 indicated that two geographical areas within Vanderburgh County accounted for a high number of reported hit and run crashes. The upcoming checkpoint will be located within one of those areas. Hit and run crashes are often the result of impaired drivers who try to avoid arrest by fleeing the scene.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office conducts sobriety checkpoints in an effort to detect and deter impaired drivers (thereby reducing the occurrence of alcohol and drug-related traffic crashes). Funding for local sobriety checkpoint operations is provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

U Of E Baseball Team Were Eliminated From Missouri Valley Conference Championship

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NORMAL, Ill. – With their postseason hopes on the line, the University of Evansville baseball team were eliminated from the Missouri Valley Conference Championships by top-seeded Dallas Baptist, 9-2, Thursday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois.

Senior right-hander Justin Hayden got the start for UE, and after pitching a scoreless opening frame, the Patriots bats tagged him for back to back home runs by Andres Sosa, then Augie Isaacson, making 3-0 Dallas Baptist.

Hayden would bounce back to toss a scoreless third, but in the fourth DBU would strike with the long ball again, as HerbertIser drilled a solo homer to right-center, making it 4-0 Dallas Baptist, ending Hayden’s day. Junior left-hander Nathan Cronerwould take over from there and toss two-plus shutout innings.

As for the Aces offense, UE had plenty of opportunities to get on the board early, stranding five runners in the first four frames. Evansville would finally get on the scoreboard in the fifth, as a wild pitch would allow junior outfielder Troy Beilsmithto race home with the Aces’ first tally of the game.

However, in the seventh inning, Dallas Baptist would finally catch up with Croner, as an error on a possible inning-ending double play ball would eventually lead to a five-run frame, ending Croner’s day.

Senior relievers Austin Allinger and Alex Weigand would take it the rest of the way on the mound.

In the bottom of the eighth, freshman designated hitter Eric Roberts gave Evansville it’s second and the last run of the day on a solo home run to right. That would be his second round-tripper of the season.

The loss end the Aces season with an overall record of 24-29 and 11-12 in conference play, while Dallas Baptist improves to 40-16 overall and 15-7 in league play.

AG Curtis Hill: Congress Must Hold Internet Service Providers Accountable

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Attorney General Curtis Hill joined 46 other attorneys general across the country this week to ask Congress for the third time to amend the Communications Decency Act in order to make sure state and local authorities are able to protect citizens online and take appropriate action against criminal acts.

The Communication Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) was designed to encourage the growth of the internet by promoting free expression, particularly on online message boards. The Act was intended to allow companies that sponsor message boards to remain immune to repercussions from inappropriate posts, but, due to a misinterpretation of Section 230 of the Act, some federal court opinions have interpreted it so broadly that individuals and services that knowingly aid and profit from illegal activity have evaded prosecution.

“We must do our best to protect our citizens, enforce the law and penalize violators,” Attorney General Hill said. “Congress must hold internet service providers accountable.”

“Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act” and “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (known as FOSTA-SESTA) was signed into law in 2018, making clear that the CDA’s immunity does not apply to enforcement of federal or state sex trafficking laws. The abuse on these platforms does not stop at sex trafficking; it also includes other harmful illegal activity such as online black market opioid sales, identity theft and election meddling.

Section 230 expressly exempts prosecution of federal crimes from the safe harbor, but “addressing criminal activity cannot be relegated to federal enforcement alone simply because the activity occurs online,” the letter states. “Attorneys General must be allowed to address these crimes themselves and fulfill our primary mandate to protect our citizens and enforce their rights.”

Attorneys general have addressed this issue with Congress before. In 2013 and 2017, nearly every state and territory attorney general wrote to inform Congress of the damaging misinterpretation and misapplication of Section 230 of the CDA.

FOOD INSPECTION REPORT FOR VANDERBURGH COUNTY

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Food Inspection Reports 5-23-19

1501 West Franklin Street by Pat Sides

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This familiar building has housed a variety of industries for well over a century. Armstrong Furniture Company originally occupied the site about 1874, and after a fire in 1890, the current structure was built.

By 1900, Bockstege Furniture Company had taken possession of the plant. Its enormous size signaled how important the furniture industry was to Evansville around the turn-of-the-century when the city boasted that it was the “furniture capital of the world.” Most of these factories were located in Lamasco, which was largely populated by Germans, many of whom were skilled craftsmen.

In 1917, the plant was enlarged for the new owner, Hercules Body Company, a division of Servel, which was then manufacturing five hundred automobile bodies per day.

ADOPT A PET

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Esmerelda is a female Lionhead mix rabbit. She’s about a year old and is a very sweet bunny. Her adoption fee is $50 and includes her spay & microchip. Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 for adoption details!

 

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