INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett says the shooting death of Southport police Lt. Aaron Allan is “a shocking and tragic reminder of the difficult, often dangerous work of police officers.” Authorities say Allan was responding to a crash where someone was trapped Thursday afternoon when he was shot. Allan was taken to Eskenazi Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Hogsett says the community grieves for the Allan family and “for all the men and women who risk their lives on a daily basis to protect our city and its citizens.” Sgt. Kendale Adams of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says two other officers at the scene of the crash returned fire, striking a person inside the vehicle. He says that person and a second person injured in the crash were taken into custody.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Roman Catholics are preparing to see a new leader formally take charge for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Archbishop-designate Charles Thompson is to be installed during a Mass on Friday afternoon at Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. Thompson has been bishop of the Evansville, Indiana, diocese since 2011 and replaces Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who became the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, in January. Pope Francis named the 56-year-old Thompson last month to the Indianapolis position, where he will lead about 225,000 Catholics across 39 counties in central and southern Indiana. Thompson previously was a priest and the second-ranking administrator for the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky. Church dignitaries expected to attend include Tobin, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich (blayz SOO’-pich) and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the pope’s ambassador to the United States.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is not ruling out a tax increase should congressional Republican efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law result in cuts to Medicaid. Holcomb said Thursday that he is “willing to entertain all sorts of decisions that will be difficult.” The Republican made the remark after he was specifically asked about raising taxes to pay for health care coverage. Indiana’s HIP 2.0 program relies on the federal government for at least 90 percent of its funding and currently insures more than 400,000 low-income people in Indiana. Various proposals that have been considered by Republicans in Congress would result in billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, which provides funding for HIP 2.0.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two Republicans who oversaw President Donald Trump’s Indiana campaign are suggesting Rep. Todd Rokita would be a good candidate for Senate. Former Indiana Republican Party Chairman Rex Early and GOP operative Tony Samuel say Rokita has been an unwavering supporter of the president. The two made the comments in a letter released Thursday. Rokita hasn’t formally announced he’s running for Senate but is hiring key campaign staff for an anticipated bid. Fellow GOP Rep. Luke Messer announced Wednesday that he’s running. Greg Pence, the brother of Vice President Mike Pence, is serving as the chairman of Messer’s fundraising efforts. Early was chairman of Trump’s Indiana campaign, while Samuel served as its vice chairman.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis has created four interagency teams to reduce the number of people taken to an emergency room or to jail as the state struggles to keep up with the opioid epidemic. The Indianapolis Star reported that the Mobile Crisis Assessment Teams will respond to crisis calls involving domestic, emotional or substance abuse. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services and Eskenazi Health have partnered together to create the teams. Each team will have one police officer, one paramedic and one licensed clinician. Melissa Lemrick is a police officer assigned to the unit. She says the goal is to connect people with the help they need, whether it’s medication, a shelter or a conversation. Teams trained from June 5 to July 19 to prepare for the many issues they’ll handle.