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Marijuana & K2 Arrest

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On Thursday, January 31st at approximately 3:00 pm, deputies from the Vanderburgh Sheriff’s Office responded to 2740 Corona Drive in regards to a complaint of an odor of marijuana coming from the building. Upon arrival, Deputy Bryan Bishop, along with Deputy Jacob Board and Mark Rasure, could smell a strong odor inside the building but were unable to determine which apartment it was coming from.

Deputy Bryan Bishop then deployed his K9 partner “Bosko” who indicated the odor was originating from Apartment “A”. With several attempts to contact the residents, deputies did finally contact Jasmine T. Coit, who lives in the apartment and was present. When deputies questioned Coit about the smell of marijuana, Coit admitted to smoking marijuana but stated none was left in the apartment. Coit did give consent to search the apartment. Prior to searching the residence, a Jacob N. Durre, arrived and stated he too resided at the apartment.

Deputy Bishop and his partner “Bosko” then conducted a search of the apartment which lead them to a dresser drawer in a back bedroom. Upon search of the dresser, Deputy Bishop recovered 3 baggies of marijuana weighing approximately 15 grams and smoking paraphernalia. In another drawer, Deputy Bishop recovered sandwich baggies with loose $1 bills and a shoe box which contained a large amount of currency. Deputies also located a bag in the closet which contained a large amount of currency. Additionally, deputies located a piece of mail underneath the currency belonging to Durre. A total of $48,408.00 was recovered.

Durre and Coit then allowed deputies to search their four vehicles. Deputies recovered two handguns and ammunition from the trunk of one vehicle along with narcotics paraphernalia.

Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Evansville-Vanderburgh Joint Narcotics Task Force (JTF) were called to assist at the scene. Detectives continued the investigation at two storage units Durre rented near South Greenriver Road and Fickas Road. Inside the storage units, detectives found a large bucket which contained approximately two pounds of suspected K2 along with paraphernalia to distribute the substance.

Durre was placed under arrest and transported to the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center and Coit was issued a citation.

The investigation is ongoing and future criminal charges are pending.

AG Zoeller agrees to multi-state settlement with company accused of ‘robo-signing’

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INDIANAPOLIS – A Florida-based company is set to pay Indiana more than $1.6 million to resolve allegations that it fraudulently “robo-signed” mortgage related documents.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined 43 other attorneys general and the District of Columbia in a $120 million multi-state settlement with Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS). Indiana’s lawsuit and proposed consent judgment was filed Thursday in Marion County.

The consent judgment, if approved by the court, settles allegations that the company, which primarily provides technological support to banks and mortgage loan servicers, “robo-signed” documents and engaged in other improper conduct related to mortgage loan default servicing. “Robosigning” is where documents contain unauthorized signatures or may contain inaccurate information.

“Consumers trust that their home loans will be treated fairly and accurately, but cases like this erode the public’s confidence in the system,” Zoeller said. “Today’s settlement underscores the states’ continued efforts to make sure companies are held accountable for their actions and homeownership, one of our most important assets, is protected.”

When entered by the court, the judgment would require LPS and its subsidiaries, LPS Default Solutions and DocX, to reform its business practices and, if necessary, to correct documents it executed to assist the homeowner.

The consent judgment requires proper execution of documents and prohibits signatures by unauthorized persons or those without first-hand knowledge of facts attested to in the documents. Also, the judgment requires enhanced oversight of the default services provided and a review of all third-party fees to ensure that the fees are reasonable and accurate.

In the proposed settlement, LPS stipulates to important facts uncovered in the investigation, including the practice by DocX of so-called “surrogate signing,” the signing of documents by an unauthorized person in the name of another and notarizing those documents as if they had been signed by the proper person, as well as other improprieties in the document execution and recordation or filing process.

Once the judgment is entered by the courts, LPS will undertake a review of its roughly 3.5 million mortgage-related documents that it executed during the period of Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2010. The purpose is to determine what documents, if any, need to be re-executed or corrected. If LPS is authorized to make the corrections, it will do so and will make periodic reports to the attorney general of the status of its review and/or modification of documents.

If a person’s property records contain documents executed by the company during the period of 2008 to 2010, the documents will be identified as part of the review process. The fact that an individual’s records may contain a document executed by LPS does not necessarily mean that they are defective or invalid or legally impacted in any way. LPS will also setup a toll-free number – to be made available on their website www.lpsvcs.com – for consumers to request review and correction of any documents executed by the company from any time period. Consumers with questions can also call the Indiana Attorney General’s Office 1-800-382-5516.

Zoeller said Indiana’s monetary portion of the settlement will be used for consumer education efforts, as well as, to reimburse the office for costs of the investigation.

The following states joined in today’s settlement: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

Evansville Water & Sewer Utility Board Meeting Agenda

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2013-02-05agenda001

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday, January 31, 2013.

Jeffrey Adams Dealing in Methamphetamine – Class A Felony
Possession of Methamphetamine – Class D Felony
(Habitual Substance Offender Enhancement)
Neglect of a Dependant – Class C Felony
(Habitual Offender Enhancement)

Ashley Dewitt Dealing in Methamphetamine – Class A Felony
Neglect of Dependant – Class C Felony (Three Counts)
Possession of Methamphetamine – Class D Felony
Maintaining a Common Nuisance – Class D Felony

Michael Langston Battery by Body Waste – Class D Felony
Resisting Law Enforcement – Class A Misdemeanor

Frantz Sainvil Possession of Cocaine – Class D Felony
Possession of Controlled Substance – Class D Felony
Possession of Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Resisting Law Enforcement – Class A Misdemeanor (Two Counts)
False Informing – Class B Misdemeanor
(Habitual Substance Offender Enhancement)

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Regene Newman at 812.435.5156 or via e-mail at rinewman@vanderburghgov.org

Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

SENTENCE CHART

Class Range
Murder 45-65 Years
Class A Felony 20-50 Years
Class B Felony 6-20 Years
Class C Felony 2-8 Years
Class D Felony ½ – 3 Years
Class A Misdemeanor 0-1 Year
Class B Misdemeanor 0-180 Days
Class C Misdemeanor 0-60 Days

Congressman Larry Bucshon Comments on January Jobless Rate

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(Washington, DC) –According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report released this morning, the U.S. unemployment rate increased to 7.9%, up from 7.8%, while the economy added 157,000 jobs. Congressman Larry Bucshon released the following statement regarding today’s report.

Congressman Bucshon (IN-08) states:

“As unemployment continued to hover around 8 percent for another month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced Wednesday that the U.S. economy contracted for the first time in over three years. Meanwhile, President Obama let his jobs council expire and Harry Reid claimed the economy is in recovery.

“The tax, spend, and regulate approach to economic policy from this Administration has stifled any real economic growth. Uncertainty has caused businesses to scale back the investment needed to create jobs for the millions of Americans who have given up the search for meaningful employment.

“It is time for the President and his Liberal allies in the Senate to get serious about tackling our nation’s challenges so that we can grow the economy and expand opportunity. As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on research, I look forward to working with my colleagues on substantive policy that will foster American ingenuity and innovation, the real drivers of economic growth.”

BACKGROUND:

For the U.S. House Republicans Jobs Tracker, please click here.

Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that, “Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — decreased at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.”

President Obama allowed his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness to expire on Thursday.

According to The Hill, Harry Reid stated Thursday that, “…the American economy is ‘in a recovery’ despite the decline in the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).”

22.7 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/28/13).

The unemployment rate when President Obama took office in January 2009, was 7.8 percent (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/28/13).

Since President Obama assumed office, the average duration of unemployment has nearly doubled from 19.8 weeks to 38.1 weeks (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/28/13).

Growth Alliance Annual Report Reveals Positive Economic Impacts

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GAGE

EVANSVILLE, IN (January 31, 2013) – The City of Evansville/Vanderburgh County’s Economic Development organization issued today its Annual Report for the 2012 fiscal year.
The report outlines the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville’s key achievements in the areas of: business attraction, business retention and expansion, business incubation and entrepreneurship, technology transfer and downtown development. The report measures the economic impacts in which the community benefits from jobs created and retained by the efforts of the Growth Alliance.
“The Growth Alliance is fast becoming recognized as the one stop resource for business, assisting nearly 30% more businesses and entrepreneurs in 2012 than in 2011,” said Deborah Dewey, President of the Growth Alliance.
Highlights of this year’s report include:
• Outreach to over 40 local businesses in 2012 resulting in the addition and/or retention of 376 jobs in Evansville/Vanderburgh County.
• New business attraction projects that resulted in the creation of 49 new jobs for our community.
• New initiatives were created to support the development of a local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Through business attraction and retention/expansion projects 1,400 new jobs have been added or retained in the City of Evansville/Vanderburgh County over the last 24 months. “Our new approach to local economic development has gained positive results. The Growth Alliance will continue to set aggressive stretch targets for local economic development and sustainable growth. Transformational initiatives are a must,” added Dewey.
The Annual Report is available for review on the Growth Alliance website: www.evansvillegage.com/reports.

Firearms Issue Will Define Sheriff Race, By: Brad Linzy

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Firearms Issue Will Define Sheriff Race

Over the last few days, I have spoken with two candidates for the office of Sheriff of Vanderburgh County, Jim Tucker and David Wedding. The main topic of my conversations with each of them has centered on the issue of the Second Amendment and a Sheriff’s role in shielding the citizens within their County from criminals within as well as from overreaching government without. Before I get into their comments on the matter, let me first lay out my views on the subject, so the reader understands my bias.

This issue dives to the heart of why the office of Sheriff is an elected, rather than appointed, position in most States, including Indiana. A Sheriff maintains his office by will of the people of his jurisdiction and is there to serve them. His oath of office includes a statement of his fidelity to the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Indiana. The reason for this oath is a simple one. It was traditionally meant to remind the newly elected Sheriff of his duty to uphold the Supreme Law of the Land above all else, and that every law he is asked by his State or Federal Government to enforce must be subservient and consistent with the Supreme Law of the Land. Any law passed by Congress or State Legislature, or any directive handed down by a Federal or State bureaucracy which circumvents, abridges or otherwise violates the Supreme Law, it is within his discretion to refuse to enforce.
Discretion is an important consideration when talking about a Sheriff’s powers, and it’s one that’s too often overlooked. If a Sheriff were merely a ceremonial role, or if his job were merely to enforce any and all laws passed without prejudice or discretion until told otherwise by the State or Federal Supreme Court, his position would simply be an appointed one. Either the Governor or County Council would appoint a Sheriff and he would apply all State and Federal Law without further consideration. However, due to his unique position as an elected official, sworn to uphold the Constitution, his deliberations on which laws are enforceable becomes more serious, and we begin to see just why his position is an elected one.

Just as a soldier takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, and has a duty to refuse to follow unconstitutional orders even from superior officers, a Sheriff has a similar duty to refuse to enforce orders from the Governor, the President, State Legislature, US Congress, or any bureaucracy giving an unconstitutional order. How could it be otherwise? To enforce an unconstitutional law would surely be unconstitutional itself and a breach of the oath of office. By enforcing unconstitutional laws or directives, an officer is actually breaking the Law himself.

My interactions with the two candidates for Sheriff has revealed a contrast in the way they each view the office and in their understanding of Constitutional law. I asked each of them the same question regarding the Second Amendment, the issue of Sheriff discretion or “nullification” of unconstitutional law, and I posed to each of them a hypothetical scenario where they were asked by a Federal bureaucracy to confiscate the weapons of law-abiding citizens in Vanderburgh County – as was done during the Katrina disaster when the National Guard, the New Orleans Police, and the Sheriff’s Office of Orleans Parish went door to door confiscating and destroying the firearms of lawful citizens.

I first asked Mr. Tucker, “What’s your position on the duties of the office of Sheriff and where do you stand on the subject of nullification of unconstitutional Federal Law? Would you enforce a hypothetical order from DHS to confiscate the legal firearms of the citizens of Vanderburgh County?”

Here was his answer: “Mr. Linzy, Thank you for your question and concerns. I see that your question is divided in to two parts and I will do my best to answer both of those. First the duties of the sheriff are defined in IC: 36-2-13-5. As your elected sheriff, I will execute and discharge these duties to the best of my ability without prejudice.

Secondly I support and will defend the Constitution of the United States of America…. [On the issue of the hypothetical], first of all both you and I know that congress will never support such a bill to infringe on any Americans 2nd amendment rights guaranteed in the constitution. But since this is a hypothetical situation here is my answer. The DHS does not author law. Therefore any directive issued by them that would be unconstitutional would not be enforced and would be questioned by my administration to the highest level of the judicial system.”

I asked the same questions of Mr. Wedding. Here was his answer to the first part: “Brad; I am an active hunter and gun owner, so as a private citizen I enjoy my weapons. If I am elected sheriff; I will take an oath where I will swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana, and that I will faithfully, impartially and diligently discharge the duties of County Sheriff according to law and to the best of my ability.”

After pointing out to Mr. Wedding that he has perhaps mistakenly forgotten to answer my final hypothetical, he offered to call me and discuss it, which he was gracious enough to do. We spent the better part of an hour conversing about these issues. I cannot offer an exhaustive overview of that conversation here, but I will hit the main points. Mr. Wedding stated he would not answer my hypothetical because he did not want to be painted into a corner. He repeatedly told me, “I don’t believe that the government will ever take our weapons.” When pressed him to give an unequivocal answer whether he would work with DHS or FEMA to confiscate the firearms of law-abiding citizens if there was a disaster in our area and they directed his office to help them in that endeavor, he would still not answer “no”, repeating instead that he doesn’t believe it would ever happen. Reminding him of the whole purpose of the mental exercise of a hypothetical question, I gave him one last chance to answer the question definitively. He did say at that point that he could maybe envision a scenario that “would have to be crazy” and he would “have to know a lot more details about it.” Reminding him the details of this hypothetical involved him helping a Federal agency confiscate the firearms of lawful citizens, he still would not amend his comments further. He did conclude by reminding me that he “supports the right to bear arms” and that he is an “avid gun owner and member of the NRA.” He also asked me to treat him fairly and not misquote him. I assured him I would not, but informed him that he had failed to give the answer I sought and that would reflect in what I wrote about this conversation. He acknowledged he was ok with that.

In conclusion, while I have never met either of these candidates for Sheriff, I feel like I’ve gotten a good sense of who they both are, and I must say, while I thought Mr. Wedding seemed like a gentleman and a hard working family man, and while I appreciated the first part of his answer to my question, I have some very serious problems with his refusal to answer my hypothetical about gun confiscation. Simply saying “I don’t believe they would ever do that” is really not an answer. There is a long time between now and the election. I hope Mr. Wedding sits down and has a nice long think about this issue and changes his mind and answers this hypothetical question closer to a manner in which Mr. Tucker answered it – with an unequivocal “no”.

IS IT TRUE February 1, 2013

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) has reconsidered it support for a fertilizer plant in Posey County?…this plant was to have gotten over a Billion dollars in bonds issued by the Indiana Finance Authority to construct a nitrogen plant in Posey County?…the business to be the beneficiary of this subsidy Midwest Fertilizer Corp. is part of Fatima Group, an industrial conglomerate based in Lahore, Pakistan?…Fatima also produces fertilizer in Pakistan, and it is part of a group of companies owned by Arif Habib Group?…for a good time now the fertilizer made in Pakistan has been under Congressional and outside investigation somehow is finding its way into the hands of terrorists that are at war with the United States in Afghanistan?…no real smoking gun has been found linking company management to the repurposed chemicals?…the IEDC somehow did not find this information worthy of further VETTING before running headlong into the bond deal at the urging of the Posey County Economic Development officials?

IS IT TRUE the CCO has received several requests to expose this is the past week and even had some questions about whether or not GAGE and the Winnecke Administration had done the VETTING for the IEDC?…the desperate rush to make deals that create announcements of some jobs is blinding local authorities and impairing whatever decision making capacity they ever had?…whether it is Earthcare Energy or Fatima it is astonishing just how easy it is for outsiders to pull the wool over local authorities eyes?…the full scope of the Fatima allegations is way worse than the inept Earthcare Energy deal where the local bumpkins simply got bamboozled by themselves?…this one rises to the level of giving incentives to a Russian business (our allies) during WWII that was accused of supplying the German army with bombs to drop on American and Allied forces?…we wonder if we are asking too much of our leaders to expect them to think three times before signing on the bottom line and calling a ribbon cutting party?

IS IT TRUE the economic news coming out of Washington seems to just keep getting worse after a brief one quarter flirtation with improvement just in time for the election for President of the United States?…just this morning we learned that the “official” unemployment rate has risen again from an election low of 7.8% to 7.9%?…we all know by now that there is nothing resembling reality about the “official” unemployment rate when it comes to the number of people who are not working?…this comes on the heels of Wednesday’s report that the overall economy of the United States contracted by 0.1% for the fourth quarter of 2012 after dangerously low growth for four or five years?…this was the first quarterly contraction in 3 years and it happened during the Christmas season and a spend to you drop presidential election?…between falling incomes and rising prices the average American family has lost over 20% of their purchasing power during the Great Recession?…that 20% is a staggering amount to absorb as most families never had 20% of their earnings left over after paying for their NEEDS?…the contraction in the economy was reported to have been driven by retail which is an indicator that discretionary spending is for now a thing of the past and that many families are learning how to survive with lesser and different NEEDS?…it is truly ironic that these numbers only came out after the presidential elections?

IS IT TRUE that finally on this first day of February the CCO wonders if life in the State of Indiana is so good that our state legislators have nothing better to do than fret over whether or not feeding a baby white tail deer with a bottle is a crime worthy of punishment?…we are once again doing things to make ourselves the laughing stock of many people?…spending time in the short legislative session to fret over the saving of a baby deer defies logic?…little Dani the white tail fawn and his saviors are in several news outlets with worldwide distribution and just need to be left alone?…Indiana pays these people to solve problems for the many not the one or the baby deer?

Governor’s First State University Visit Is To USI

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January 31, 2013 | Wendy Bredhold

Governor Pence greets students in Dr. Chad Milewicz’s Personal Selling class.

Photo Credit: USI Photography Services

Hi-Res | Web

Indiana Governor Mike Pence visited the University of Southern Indiana today, meeting with USI President Linda L. M. Bennett and Cynthia Brinker, vice president for Government and University Relations, before speaking to a marketing class taught by Dr. Chad Milewicz in the Business and Engineering Center.

“I commend all of you for making a great choice for your future attending the University of Southern Indiana,” Pence told students in the Personal Selling class. “I’m particularly honored to be joined here by President Bennett, who I’ve known for some time and greatly admire. She’s one of the really dynamic leaders in higher education in this state and around the country.”

The governor answered students’ questions about the skills Indiana employers seek, plans to incentivize on-time graduation, and access to pre-kindergarten education for underprivileged children. Ashley Phillips, a radio/TV major and journalism minor from Chicago, asked Pence why he chose to visit USI now.

“I was anxious to get down here,” the governor replied. “I had known of the reputation of USI for some time. It’s a tremendous asset not just to southern Indiana, but to all of Indiana and the Midwest.”

He added that Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann, founding director of USI’s Center for Applied Research and Economic Development (CARED), urged him to visit USI. Ellspermann served as director of CARED for six years.

“She’s a tremendous leader and since the first day I met her she’s been bragging about USI and asking me when I’m going to get there. And I wanted to come down and see it for myself.”

Before he left the USI campus, the governor viewed the new Applied Engineering Center, scheduled to open in fall 2013. The $3.3 million facility has more than 25,000 square feet of space and $3 million in custom-made, high-tech manufacturing and engineering equipment. The equipment will give the University the opportunity to partner with local industries to experiment with designing new production lines.

While in the area, Pence also visited Vuteq, a Toyota parts supplier in Gibson County, and attended a meeting of the Evansville Downtown Kiwanis Club.

USI is the first state university Pence has visited as governor.

AG urges continued focus on coordinated school safety efforts

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Zoeller visits school corporations, highlights local partnerships

As policymakers at the state, federal and local levels consider methods of improving school safety, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller today visited two school corporations that have partnered with local law enforcement and highlighted efforts such as implementing school resource officers and school liaison officers who help maintain safety and provide ongoing support systems for students and teachers.

The Indiana General Assembly is considering Senate Bill 1 which as initially proposed would provide funds through state matching grants that school systems could apply for to pay for trained law enforcement officer positions to bolster security at schools. School corporations already are required to have safety plans in place and to identify school safety specialists, and some already utilize school resource officers; but since the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy of December 14, many school boards and administrators are examining ways to further enhance safety in their buildings and classrooms.

“Last fall, prior to the Newtown tragedy, the Office of the Attorney General conducted a needs assessment study where Indiana educators and law enforcement made clear they would like to make more school resource officers available in their schools but funding is an obstacle. Though each community’s security needs are different, clearly there is an unmet demand by parents and educators to implement improvements smartly and swiftly, and I applaud the Legislature’s willingness to prioritize school safety this session,” Zoeller said.

“The Department of Education strives to support and provide our schools, teachers and administrators with all the tools and resources they need to create a safe and positive learning environment for our students,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said. “I believe that Attorney General Zoeller ‘s proposed legislation to support and expand the School Resource Officer program will help ensure that our schools, personnel, and students are safe and secure.”

Zoeller, who is the lawyer for state government and represents the criminal justice system generally, visited the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, the third-largest public school system in the state. EVSC has longstanding partnerships with law enforcement agencies that provide officers at its schools. Evansville Police Department officers enhance safety at the EVSC schools within city limits while deputies from the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office do the same at EVSC schools outside city limits.

Zoeller also recognized the work of the Southwest Indiana Schools and Community Collaborative partnership that, through a federal Safe Schools Healthy Students grant, funds school resource officers in four school systems in three predominantly rural counties: MSD North Posey, North Gibson School Corporation, South Gibson School Corporation and Warrick County School Corporation. Separately, the City of Huntingburg is exploring the possibility of starting a local school resource officer program.

The Attorney General today also visited Clarksville Community School Corporation. The Clarksville School Board and Town Council recently signed an agreement where the Clarksville Police Department will provide a trained police officer to serve as a school resource officer to work in the system’s three schools.

Zoeller thanked the southwest Indiana school administrators, law enforcement agencies and municipal leaders for their efforts and noted the proposal in the Legislature introduced by State Senator Pete Miller, R-Avon, to make available funding to broaden the use of school resource officers for those schools that determine they need them. Senate Bill 1 will be amended from its original version and Zoeller encourages the Legislature to establish a grant funding approach that allows for flexibility by school boards in meeting school safety and related needs under the State’s home rule that empowers local decision making.

“While various constructive approaches for rural and urban schools will be discussed, it is important that school corporations and law enforcement agencies further develop their existing working relationships and review their emergency plans to provide additional peace of mind for parents, students and teachers,” Zoeller said.

Zoeller added that the Attorney General’s office will closely monitor possible new federal grant programs that might emerge from the federal government to improve school safety after Newtown, and he will work closely with Superintendent Ritz and the DOE, the Legislature and other state agencies to make schools aware of any future federal grant-funding opportunities that could complement state grants.

NOTE: Attached is an executive summary of the Attorney General’s Office’s research-based needs assessment study on school resource officers and their utilization in Indiana, conducted in November and early December 2012 prior to the Newtown, Conn., incident.

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