INDIANAPOLIS — FOX59/CBS4 has confirmed that Center Township Constable Denise Hatch detained two people including a small claims court bailiff for impersonating law enforcement.
The source inside claimed the bailiff might’ve also been a retired county sheriff deputy and was the ex-chief of staff of the previous constable.
The other person detained was a security guard for the Center Township trustee. He was detained for “interfering” and “not stepping back 25 feet when he tried to intervene.”
The man detained for interfering may have been trying to get the judge to “straighten out the situation.”
According to the source, the sheriff refused to accept the prisoners at the adult detention center when the arresting deputy constables brought the bailiff and a security guard from the trustee’s office in custody.
Center Township deputy constables and their prisoners were turned away.
Indianapolis Metro Police Department’s special investigative unit was sorting out the situation at the scene.
Center Township Trustee Ladonna Freeman released a statement following the arrest:
Today, the Center Township Constable decided to detain a Center Township trustee and a court employee. This event started after the Constable caused a disturbance with court staff. We remain confident that neither employee violated the law. After the trustee and court employees were detained, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office refused to take them into custody. The deputies returned the employees to the Julia Carson Government Center, and they returned to work.
The Center Township Trustee’s Office is not in a position to comment on the Oct. 17 order from the Center Township Smalls Claims Court against the Center Township Constable. The Center Township Trustee is responsible for assisting residents who find themselves in need of temporary assistance or other government services. She remains committed to the residents of Center Township. Today’s events did not impact any services.
This communication will serve as the final remark from the Center Township Trustee’s Office.
LaDonna Freeman, Center Township Trustee
Previous reports showed another investigation into controversy with the Center Township Constable after a deputy constable she hired was arrested.
IMPD body camera footage from the early October arrest of Deputy Constable Craig Regans was released last week.
Regans was arrested for unlawfully carrying a handgun. He had previously been convicted for multiple crimes, including domestic battery. His boss, Constable Hatch, defended hiring him despite his criminal history.
Hatch said her office is still trying to perform its duties and looking at doing full background checks for future employees, which they do not currently do.
This is a developing story.
