Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett is downplaying recent criticism by fellow Democrat City-County Councilor Joe Simpson that his 100-day anti-crime plan unfairly targets minorities.
Simpson attacked the plan last week on the radio program Indy Speaks, saying the city’s efforts to crackdown on more than 1,400 individuals with outstanding warrants targets blacks by making them the face of crime. Simpson also said the Hogsett proposal sends the message that blacks are mainly responsible for crime in the city.
The Mayor says he will sit down with Simpson to clear up any misunderstands and said he also made it clear that he was Mayor and the buck stopped with him when it came to the issue of crime. Hogsett announced his plan on his second day in office.
Hogsett made his comments today after presenting an award to former Mayor Greg Ballard for initiating the city’s robotics competition.
You can hear the entire interview in the Leon-Tailored Audio above. It runs about three minutes.
