Thursday, July 10
6:00 pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center
“I don’t know how many times we have to say it—we are not your children’s keepers! You are!”
– IMPD Chief Christopher Bailey
Railing against parents and kids after a tragic July 4 shooting that resulted in two dead teenagers and left several more injured, IMPD Chief Christopher Bailey—someone who is rarely so transparent and correct—presents an often obscured truth: IMPD and the city government of Indianapolis are not here to ensure the well-being of our children. As IMPD’s ruthlessness and racism become more and more apparent, as the city and state government defund our schools and give more money to cops, and as even more cuts to school programs are threatened, it is more clear than ever: it’s on us as a community to ensure the safety and well-being of our children. This town hall is a part of this process. To properly address the most pressing issues facing kids in our community, we must seek out and listen to the thoughts and concerns of those most directly impacted: the kids themselves. At the town hall, we’ll also hear about how police in Indianapolis actively work against parents and kids—needlessly and violently separating them.
In their response to the July 4 shootings, Bailey, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, and others made it clear where they felt the blame should lie: at the feet of anyone but IMPD and city government. Despite absolving IMPD of all responsibility, Bailey seemingly paradoxically asserts that the solution is more cops, more surveillance, a stricter curfew, and a tougher crack down on kids and parents. At a July 7 City-County Council meeting, city officials proposed an even more restrictive curfew, which would criminalize those under 18 for being out past 9:00 pm most days of the week, among other restrictions. While these so-called “leaders” propose to further criminalize and attack kids—a tactic they’ve resorted to for years—they refuse to interrogate and attack the roots of the issues facing children.
Not only will these changes not protect kids, it will further threaten them. IMPD is a well-armed, unaccountable gang that roams the city looking for trouble. Curfew restrictions will be used to legally attack kids and their parents. As families face schools with fewer and fewer resources, increasing difficulty in affording their most basic needs, and dwindling social services, the city meets them with further criminalization. It is just as IMPD Chief Bailey said: they aren’t here to help us—so it’s on us to develop these solutions, and to organize to put them into action.
Come through this Thursday as we work together to attack the roots of these issues!
Featured image: Attendees at a February 2025 town hall on immigration. Credit: Indianapolis Liberation Center