Carmel Deputy Chief of Police resigns after allegations
After being suspended upon allegations of inappropriate behavior, Carmel Police Deputy Chief Joe Bickel filed his notice of retirement, and his resignation was accepted by the Police Chief Jeff Horner, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, and the Police Merit Board. Bicket had been accused of inappropriate touching and groping, as well as trying to use his position of authority to influence a Carmel Police Department employee to violate standard operating procedures for the benefit of a family member. According to the Carmel Police Merit Board, the matter is considered closed, due to the accepted resignation.
Carmel Officer arrested on Identity Deception charges
A Clay County Superior Court judge granted an arrest warrant for a Carmel Police Officer accused of identity deception. 32 year-old Fishers resident Andrew Longyear, a former Clay County Sheriff’s Department Deputy and current Carmel Police Officer, had been under investigation by Indiana State Police for allegedly posing as someone else online, and making derogatory comments. The individual claiming that he was being impersonated on social media is from Loganville, Georgia.
Longyear is said to have posted the comments in question on a Facebook page entitled Brazil Indiana Chatter. He was arrested an charged with two counts, both related to Identity Deception.
***Criminal Defendants are innocent until and unless convicted in a court of law
Artist Spotlight nominations sought
Are you, or do you know, a Hoosier entrepreneurial or community-minded artist doing interesting work? Nominate yourself or someone else for IAC’s upcoming ‘Artist Spotlight’!
The Indiana Arts Commission is working on a new initiative to support local artists through spotlighting their work via The Weekly Scoop and our social media. They currently seek nominations for these spotlights, which will become a regular part of The Weekly Scoop e-newsletter. The IAC looks to spotlight artists who are entrepreneurial and doing successful work at the national level while continuing to live in Indiana and/or artists who are working locally to create a substantial positive impact in their communities.
Nominate yourself or somebody else for an artist spotlight.
This Week in Hoosier History
1968 – Janis Joplin performed on the main stage of the ballroom at Indiana Beach in Monticello. The lead singer for a rock band called “Big Brother and the Holding Company,” she was still unknown to most of the audience. Her fame began to grow the next year at the music festival in Woodstock, New York.
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