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Indianapolis Star
2 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
Court docs: Ex-IMPD officer abused two children years before retiring from the force
Editor's note: This article contains descriptions of child abuse. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the Indiana Department of Child Services' Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All adults are mandated reporters in Indiana. A former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer once commended for his work with crime victims now stands accused of sexually abusing two young girls, according to court documents. David B. McDaniel, 54, faces two counts of child molestation and a third count of attempting to molest a child under the age of 14. The investigation began earlier this month when two 17-year-old girls told their families and McDaniel's ex-wife that they both had been abused by McDaniel multiple times, beginning when they were about eight and nine years old. Both girls reported that they were first abused by McDaniel while on out-of-state trips with him in Florida and Tennessee. They told police they discussed the assaults with one another, but never told an adult. Each girl also described being awoken by sexual assaults during the night while staying at McDaniel's house. McDaniel was a member of IMPD between 1995 and March 2024, and had been on the force for more than 20 years when the alleged abuse began in 2016. In 2022, McDaniel was honored with a plaque from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana for his "outstanding commitment to serving crime victims and pursuing excellence in victim services." The ceremony was held in connection with National Crime Victims' Rights Week, a part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. IMPD declined to comment except to confirm that McDaniel is a former officer. After retiring from IMPD last year, McDaniel worked as a police officer at Ascension St. Vincent. The health system did not respond to a request for comment. IndyStar has requested McDaniel's personnel file from IMPD. Ex-IMPD David McDaniel: Retired IMPD officer arrested for allegedly molesting a child McDaniel was on vacation with his brother in Florida when the ISP investigation began, detectives wrote. One of the victim's parents received a text message from McDaniel imploring them to help his family "because they are embarrassed about what happened and afraid to lose their dad." In another message, McDaniel said that "if I end this now, (then) hopefully it doesn't come out publicly" and would at least save the victims and his family humiliation. "(There's) nothing I can do or say that will change or fix this so I have to figure out what's the best way to minimize (the) impact," the message read in part. McDaniel's brother told police on July 12 that he believed McDaniel would take his own life, but that he was trying to talk him into turning himself in and doing the right thing. Court documents don't specify where McDaniel was over the next 10 days, but on July 22 he was arrested by Indiana State Police during a traffic stop in New Palestine. A document titled "The Last Will & Testament of David Brian McDaniel" could be clearly seen on the front passenger's seat, investigators noted. McDaniel is being held in the Hancock County Jail. His initial hearing was scheduled for July 30 at 1 p.m. On July 22, IMPD officer Nicholas Cauley was arrested after investigators say he used police resources to stalk and harass his ex-wife. Four IMPD officers were charged with sex crimes last year. One of the defendants, Paul Humphrey, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual misconduct with a minor on July 14. He's accused of abusing a 15-year-old girl in January 2024. The three other cases remain pending. In September 2024, Kamal Bola, an officer of six years, was arrested in Hendricks County and charged with public voyeurism, three counts of child molesting, and one count of committing the crime of deadly force or being armed with a deadly weapon. In August 2024, Javed Richards, an officer of 12 years who worked in internal affairs, was charged with 13 counts of child exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography after detectives discovered Richards was allegedly uploading and downloading material sexually exploiting children on the internet. In April 2024, Lateral officer Myron Howard, who was with the department for one year, was charged with rape, criminal confinement, official misconduct, making an unlawful proposition, public indecency and public nudity. He's accused of sexually assaulting two women in two separate situations after they had called 911 for help.
Indianapolis Star
5 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
Indianapolis man convicted of child molestation, rape
This article contains descriptions of child abuse. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the Indiana Department of Child Services' Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All adults are mandated reporters in Indiana. An Indianapolis man was convicted of child molestation and rape during a July 23 jury trial in Marion County. Damaine King, 42, was arrested by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers in February 2024 for sexually abusing a child relative. The child reported the incident to a friend and relatives immediately after it occurred. A relative then called the police, who arrested King, according to a probable cause affidavit. On July 23, King was found guilty of child molesting, a Level 1 and Level 4 felony, and rape, a Level 3 felony.
Indianapolis Star
24-07-2025
- Indianapolis Star
IMPD involved in shooting near Crown Hill Cemetery. West 32nd closed
This article will update. Indianapolis police were involved in a shooting at around 8:15 a.m. on July 24 near Crown Hill Cemetery. West 32nd Street will be closed between Clifton Street and Dr. MLK Jr. Street for the next several hours as members of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigate the area. Details are scarce this early in the investigation, but here's what we know: The shooting took place in the 900 block of West 32nd Street. No officers were injured in the shooting, according to IMPD. No details have been announced about the person shot. This article continues past images and tweets. Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at and follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @IAMJADEJACKSON. Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@ follow him on X @1NoerPadilla or on Bluesky @
Indianapolis Star
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
'Something's gotta give': Gov. Braun hints state could intervene over Indy violence
Gov. Mike Braun signaled Tuesday that he's open to some kind of state intervention in Indianapolis if the city itself doesn't "make a change" in response to a recent spate of gun violence, despite criminal homicides being down year-over-year since 2021. That's what the president of the city's police union has publicly asked for, though specifics are lacking, following nearly a dozen shooting deaths in the first two weekends of July. Braun also declined to specify what kinds of interventions the state government may consider. "I think it would be a dereliction if you weren't at least talking about it, and then sooner or later seeing if they're going to take action that really shows results, or put your heads together in terms of what that next step might be," he told reporters at the governor's mansion Tuesday. "I'm not going to say what it's going to be. I'm saying it's at the point where something needs to change." A mass shooting downtown in the early hours of July 5 claimed the lives of two teens, in addition to three others shot and killed across the city over the holiday weekend. This past weekend, at least six people were killed. In response, the city-county council is considering extending the curfew for youth and adding punitive fines for parents whose kids violate curfew. Rick Snyder, president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police, yesterday indicated this response doesn't go far enough and called upon state elected leaders to "step in." Already during the July 4 holiday weekend, at the request of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Braun sent some state troopers to Indianapolis to assist with patrols, weapons recovery and arrests. Snyder hasn't responded to questions on what else specifically he'd like state leaders to do beyond this kind of operational assistance. Braun expressed some reluctance to trump local control, saying Indianapolis is "its own political subdivision," but he also said he doesn't want to see things get worse and earn the state headlines that, in his words, resemble those from larger urban areas. In an interview with IndyStar Wednesday, Senate Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, expressed similar sentiments: vague about what could be done, hesitant to usurp local control, but warning that the state may be willing to take action. "I'm just open to any conversation about how we can be helpful there. I should tell you, though, if people come to us for help, not everybody probably likes the things we come up with," he said. "I'm not going to say right now exactly what we're going to do, because it's extremely complicated and I need to listen to law enforcement and Rick Snyder and the FOP and figure out what it is exactly they need, because we want to be helpful if and where we can be. " Braun challenged residents of Indianapolis to "put different people in charge" and think about what things were like in the city nine years ago, referring to the Republican Greg Ballard's mayoral administration. "When it comes to our state capital, measured to where it was nine years ago, something's got to give," he said. See the data: Indianapolis homicide tracker 2025 Looking at just one statistic, criminal homicides, there were fewer of them nine years ago than there are in a given year today in Indianapolis. It should be noted, too, that the numbers have steadily increased each year since 2012, and Both the Mayor Greg Ballard and Joe Hogsett administrations, which span this time period, have shattered records. While in former Mayor Greg Ballard's first term in office, the criminal homicides typically numbered just below 100 per year, the city then broke a record during his second term: 144 criminal homicides in 2015, the most since 1998. That number has continued to climb. In 2021, a pandemic year, the city saw a historic 249 criminal homicides. The annual numbers have receded since then. So far this year, Indianapolis police have reported 84 criminal homicides. This figure is 27% lower than this time last year, according to IMPD data shared with IndyStar. Crime writ large in the downtown neighborhood is down 6% year-to-date.
Indianapolis Star
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indianapolis City-County Council pushes to start youth curfew 2 hours earlier after shooting
After a violent holiday weekend that included a mass shooting downtown in which two teenagers died, the Indianapolis City-County Council is pushing to impose an earlier youth curfew at the urging of the police chief and the mayor. A new proposal introduced at a July 7 council meeting would begin the curfew for all minors in Marion County two hours earlier. The council will also consider measures to hold parents and guardians accountable for their children's actions, including fines and parenting classes for repeat violations. Proposal No. 232 would make it unlawful for minors to be unsupervised in a public place in Marion County during the following hours: The curfew currently begins two hours later in each category, according to state law that the city follows. Under state law, it's illegal for teenagers ages 15-17 to be out alone in public after 1 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday and after 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday unless they are going to or returning from work, an extracurricular activity, or a religious event, among other exceptions. Children younger than 15 must be in their homes by 11 p.m. every day. The push to restrict the curfew follows a mass shooting involving juveniles gathered near Washington and Illinois Streets in the early hours of July 5, after thousands of people gathered downtown for the annual Fourth of July fireworks show. Two teenagers — Azareaon S. Cole, 15, and Xavion Jackson, 16 — were killed and five other people were injured. Police have charged four teens in connection with the shootings. While the current proposal would only extend the curfew, councilors said they aim to add civil penalties including fines and parenting classes for the parents and guardians of repeat offenders in a July 16 Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee meeting. The amended bill will return to the full council for a vote in a future meeting. Michael-Paul Hart, who leads the 25-member council's six Republicans, said that without penalties for parents, the resolution seems unlikely to improve safety among teens. "We've got a parental problem, sure," Hart said, "but just changing the hours isn't going to change the behavior." In the meantime, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department will redouble its efforts to enforce the existing curfew. Mayor Joe Hogsett said the city will back IMPD's efforts to boost enforcement and save lives. "The youth gun violence we experienced in our city this weekend was tragic, unacceptable — and completely preventable," Hogsett said in a written statement. "Our city's youth have no business being out unsupervised in the middle of the night."
