INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Chief Tanya Terry presented the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s 2027 budget proposal of roughly $400 million, an 11.5% increase from 2026, on Wednesday to the City-County Council’s public safety and criminal justice committee.
The proposal would accounts for about 25% of Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett’s proposed 2027 budget.
The IMPD proposal would fund 1,743 sworn officers, up from the current 1,383. Terry said the funding for the 360 vacancies would pay for overtime and recruitment. “That’s why we’re investing in well-being training and development, giving the team tools, time and support they need to do their jobs with professionalism and integrity.”
Terry also discussed spending on Flock license-plate reading cameras.
Terry in August told Indiana’s I-Team that the officer accessed the Flock camera system hundreds of times to monitor a small group of license plates that had no connection to any official investigation. The department has not identified the officer.
She said Wednesday that safeguards to prevent misuse would include requiring officers to link searches to a specific case number or dispatch record.
During the budget proposal’s presentation, protesters interrupted to voice anger over the July shooting death of Dalys Jett by IMPD officers. Two officers were injured in the shootout, police have said.
The protesters urged the City-County Council committee to reject the 2027 budget proposal and hold the department accountable.
“Do not fund what you refuse to confront,” said Davanta Scruggs, a pastor at New Mount Zion Baptist Church and a representative of Jett’s family. “You need to hold IMPD accountable and ask the questions of what’s going on, where the money is really going, and we need justice for Dalys Jett.”
The committee is scheduled to discuss the budget again Sept. 30.
The full Indianapolis City-County Council will likely vote Oct. 19.
Circle City Broadcasting’s Gregg Montgomery contributed to this story.
