The website Speedway Neighborhood Watch, along with its social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube (see links at right under “Connect with Us”) have all been redesigned and rebranded as “Speedway Community Policing” to reflect and highlight all of the excellent community policing programs of the Speedway Police Department, in addition to Neighborhood Watch.
Programs to foster and encourage positive community police interactions and partnerships include:
While this site (and our social media) will highlight those programs as well as safety, neighborhood watch news and info, please also be sure to continue to follow the main Speedway Police Department accounts on social media (see links here) for important updates related to traffic, race event information, street closures & repairs, etc.
Are you interested in learning about the Speedway Police Department and what it takes for officers to do their jobs? Here’s your chance to learn all about K-9, fingerprinting techniques, crime scene investigations, go on a ride along, and much more over this 12-week program!
Afterward, if you choose, there are various opportunities to get involved and volunteer for the department as well!
The 7th Speedway Police Citizens Academy Class will start on Wednesday, August 31, 2016. Applications are currently being accepted for approximately 5 remaining spots in the class on a first come, first served basis until the class is filled.
Reminder that there will be a Speedway Neighborhood Watch meeting on Thursday, June 23 at 7PM at the Community Room behind Flanner & Buchanan. The Speedway Police Department will have a Q & A session. We hope you’ll join us!
The Speedway Relay for Life event will be held this weekend from 10AM – Saturday to 10AM Sunday (24 HOURS!) at Leonard Park. This year, the Speedway Police Department, Speedway Police Citizens Academy Alumni, and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office are joining forces as Team Dragnet: Just the Facts, Ma’am.
Team Dragnet will be selling walking tacos, Long’s Donuts, cookies (shaped like police badges and K-9s), and water & soda between 10:30AM – 6:00PM. During that time, we’ll also be operating the Jail & Bail. A new feature of our Jail & Bail this year, we’ll also be offering mug shots & “I Support Speedway Police” bracelets for an additional $3.
We hope you’ll stop by and see us and all of the other teams at this fun event!
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to Team Dragnet online, please click the donation button below. Thank you for helping us support the American Cancer Society!
From Indiana State Police-Indianapolis District 52-Indianapolis, IN:
Thursday March 31st, 2016 :: 09:50 p.m. EDT
*This information is being released in coordination with the Speedway Police Department.
Indianapolis – Shortly after 1 p.m. today officers from the Speedway Police Department received information of a possible wanted subject, 57 year old Douglas Gaultney of Knox County Indiana, in a white van in the area of 18th and MacArthur Lane, in Speedway. Officers were able to locate and make contact with Gaultney, who was the sole occupant of the van. Gaultney immediately brandished a shotgun causing the officers to move to a safe position and call for additional help. Gaultney was making statements that led police to believe he did not have intentions of exiting the vehicle.
The Speedway Police Department SWAT team, along with the Indiana State Police SWAT team and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department all responded to the scene. Officers attempted to negotiate with Gaultney for several hours. Gaultney exited the van at one point with the shotgun in his hands but immediately re-entered the van.
Shortly before 7 p.m. members of the Indiana State Police SWAT team and the Speedway Police SWAT team attempted less lethal tactics of tear gas and use of an armored state police vehicle to encourage Gaultney to peacefully surrender. However, Gaultney chose to get out of the van armed with a shotgun that he pointed at officers. This action resulted in several police officers shooting Gaultney who then fell to the ground. Life saving measures were immediately initiated by police officers until medics, who were staged nearby, were able to provide direct first-aid to Gaultney. Gaultney was then transported to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition and at the writing of this release was in surgery.
No police officers or other citizens were injured during this police action shooting. Crime Scene Investigators are currently on the scene collecting and preserving evidence, as well as investigators from the Indiana State Police and Speedway Police Department.
Douglas Gaultney was wanted out of Knox County on violation of probation for possession of marijuana.
This is an ongoing investigation and there is no further information available at this time.
Investigating Agency: Indiana State Police
Assisting Agencies: Speedway Police Department, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Speedway Street Department, Speedway Fire Department.
The Speedway Police Department encourages you to call if you feel something is suspicious or potentially warrants their attention. They are more than happy to patrol any areas necessary to help identify or deter any potential dangers. If you feel something to be suspicious NEVER hesitate to call the department.
The Speedway Police Department and Speedway Police Citizens Academy Alumni Association (SPCAAA) will participate in this year’s Speedway Relay for Life event, to be held for 24 hours from 10AM on June 11, 2016.
The overall theme for this year’s Relay for Life event is “Relaywood” and each participating team will feature a different movie theme. SPD and SPCAAA will partner as Team Dragnet: Just the Facts, Ma’am– in homage to our chosen movie, the 1987 feature film Dragnet, starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks.
Relay for Life is a 24 hour fundraising event, which helps the American Cancer Society fight the nation’s biggest health concern, cancer. Teams can fundraise online, on site or both in a variety of ways.
As in the past, we will offer the very popular Jail & Bail!
We hope you’ll come out to Relay and enjoy something from all of the participating Relay teams, who will offer a variety of items ranging from crafts to food.
Thank you very much to our sponsor, Schmidt Associates for donating to Team Dragnet!
Here are some highlights from Speedway’s Relay for Life event.
Thank you to everyone who attended the Speedway Police Department’s Neighborhood Watch meeting, held on Thursday, March 3, 2016. It was an excellent turnout, and we appreciate everyone for attending.
Sgt. Mirantha Wilson introduced Joe Kramer and John Merritt of the Code Enforcement Division of the Speedway Police Department.
Officer Kramer explained to the residents of several concepts and duties of the Code Enforcement Division. Kramer advised the group that there was a team concept which involved all the different agencies within the town such as the police & fire department, street department, sanitation and water department. Kramer explained since the arrival of the new Town Manager Ian Nicolini there are monthly staff meetings and reviews involving all the department heads and discussions on current town projects, new ideas and development to help serve and keep the town a safe and clean community.
Kramer discussed other towns and cities are mentoring what our Code Enforcement Division is doing and accomplishing. Along with that, Officer Kramer and Merritt were asked to speak at this year’s Indiana Associations of Cities and Towns which is being hosted in downtown Indianapolis. Officer Kramer spoke of the top complaints in the town as far as code enforcement and those were overgrown grass, not to exceed 6 inches, debris, trees, abandoned vehicles, animal complaints, right of way issues, and parking. The parking complaints were of those people parking their vehicles in their yards and those who park the wrong way facing oncoming traffic. These are not permissible and are subject to a $50.00 for each separate offense. Officer Kramer also stated the town’s ordinances were under review with two titles complete and approved by the Town Council. Kramer advised the Town Council has been very forthcoming of revising and updating our ordinances to improve our town’s quality of life.
Officer John Merritt is the Town’s Building Commissioner and also is a code enforcement officer. Mr. Merritt spoke of what type of building permits are required by the town. Mr. Merritt explained that if you were conducting a renovation, building a deck, barn, home or garage addition or new construction, a permit would be required. Mr. Merritt encouraged when in doubt call him and if your project requires or doesn’t require a permit he would let you know. Mr. Merritt advised how Speedway is unique in that when you purchase a permit you get service with an inspection for each permit issued. Each inspection assures that you as the homeowner are getting the quality of work you paid for by your contractor. Mr. Merritt also advised that there are three other members of his team. These members are Kevin Schrader, who inspects the electrical permits and Jim Fink, who inspects the plumbing. Brent Schneider, a new resident of our town, and a 20 year building official backs up all members of the team when needed. Mr. Merritt expressed how the division picks up signs in the right of way of businesses or people selling things and advertising. This also includes the signs people put on utility poles. Mr. Merritt confirmed the team concept of not only the town employees but that of the townspeople who reside in our town. Mr. Merritt stated our division is here to work with all our residents and businesses to build a strong community. The Code Enforcement officers were thrilled of how many residents attended the meeting. The officers encouraged the community to call if they have a complaint or questions.
REMINDER: The Speedway Police Department and Speedway Neighborhood Watch have scheduled a general meeting for this Thursday evening, March 3, 2016. Please see flyer below for meeting details.
Join us for a presentation by Speedway Code Enforcement Officers Joe Kramer and John Merritt, followed by an open Q & A session with Speedway PD.
On Saturday, February 13, 2016, the Speedway Lions Club hosted the annual State of the Town Address, held in the Media Center at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In addition to summaries of the various Town of Speedway departments, including Parks, Streets, Infrastucture, Schools, and Fire Department, Speedway Town Council President David Lindsey spoke about the effort and commitment of the Speedway Police Department to the safety of the town, highest standards of policing practices, as well as the continued strengthening of partnership with residents.
I personally believe that the key to the quality of life begins by keeping our residents safe. Our emergency services have consistently risen to the challenge of protecting our residents, businesses, and investments in our community.
Our police department was recognized by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies as an accredited police department. This recognition places our police department among the select police departments in the United States that have best police practices. Of the over 17,000 police departments in the United States, only 581 are CALEA accredited and our police department is one of those departments.
We see other instances around the country where there is strife between the community and police; but in Speedway, our police department is part of our community, and as a group professionals charged with a challenging and often dangerous job, they have willingly accepted the challenge to adopt the highest standards of law enforcement.
Speaking of engaging citizens and police, the department’s Volunteers in Policing services has done just that. The V.I.P. program utilizes graduates of our outstanding Citizens Academy to assist in special public safety assignments including special event security and traffic control. Would all of the graduates, instructors, and volunteers of our Citizens Academy please stand and be recognized at this time. Thank you.
In 2015, this partnership between the community and our police department extended to our high school as well. The outstanding leadership in Speedway schools and the Speedway Police Department created the first Student Academy to foster strong relationships between the next generation of leaders in our community and our leaders in law enforcement.
We accomplished all of this while serving as the lead law enforcement agency for three international sporting events and 62 special events in the community. Make no mistake, our emergency service professionals face challenges each day. To assist in the challenging environment that they must operate in, we have invested in the infrastructure that allows our team to stay informed. We have improved cameras at intersections and in our parks, adopted a policy that will allow the police department to replace the oldest squad cars in the fleet and we’ve partnered with other agencies to utilize data and mapping technology to be more proactive. We believe that by fostering strong partnerships in the community and taking decisive action to deter and arrest criminals, we will continue to protect the investments that we have made in this community.
Our Code Enforcement Division took on the challenge of developing recommended updates to the Town’s Municipal Code. This is no small task when you consider that the code in some instances was nearly 90 years old. These policy changes added a much needed review of the necessity of many of these antiquated laws while also recommending policies that make our neighborhoods stronger and safer. I greatly appreciate Joe Kramer’s efforts to help us not only enforce the Municipal Code, but also to find ways to strengthen it. Thank you Joe.
Click here to watch the entire video of the Speedway Town of the Town Address (the portion the address related to public safety starts at 45:46):
In addition, the 2015 Year in Review video is shown at the end of the State of the Town Address or you can view it separately below. The video contains clips of so many of the great events, construction, and development in Speedway. Among them is our 2015 National Night Out event, as well as the graduation for the latest Citizens Academy Class!
On Wednesday, February 17, 2016, Chiefs from within and around Marion County (including Speedway PD) met with IMPD to discuss crime & data analysis and how to better communicate with each other.
IMPD Chief Troy Riggs said:
“It was our pleasure today to have some of the surrounding Chiefs of Indianapolis come here and talk about working together in partnership to try to deal with some of the issues we’re facing, not just in Indianapolis but throughout Central Indiana. I’m really excited about the men and women that represent the departments around us; good, hardworking motivated individuals, they’re going to bring alot of talent to helping us in Indianapolis and as we work at trying to really focus on crime, we want to make sure that all of our Chiefs understand what’s going on, so we just don’t simply displace crime. In working together, we improve the quality of life for all the residents of Central Indiana. So we’re very grateful to the Chiefs for being here today and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
IMPD Assistant Chief Bryan Roach said:
We believe that crime doesn’t have any borders and that all of us are probably dealing with the same issues and even some of the same individuals. So this was an opportunity to communicate where we as a police department, IMPD, is going and to enlist their help and to open up doors of communication so that we can be more effective for the community in general.”
