DeLaney amendment to protect communities from unwanted military presence rejected

Today, State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) offered an amendment to House Bill 1343 that would require local authorities to agree before military police from the National Guard be deployed to their city to enforce civil laws. Currently, this bill gives the governor authority to send a paramilitary police force into any part of the state whenever he deems necessary without the consent of the community or its elected officials. 

“Our citizens do not expect military police to come into our communities against their will to enforce the law,” DeLaney said. “Minnesota is a prime example of what happens when different law enforcement agencies are thrown together without being on the same page. In a scenario where National Guard members are sent into a city without the consent of the local officials, they are likely going to have differing directives and even be put directly at odds with each other. These crossed wires do nothing but sow chaos. As we saw in Minneapolis over the weekend, that chaos can have deadly consequences. 

“Giving the governor sole authority to send soldiers trained in combat, not as civilian law enforcement, into communities against the will of local leaders goes against everything I thought Indiana stood for. The people best equipped to police and protect their communities are the local law enforcement agencies and local officials. Full stop.”