IMPD, ministers taking steps to prevent 4th of July violence - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Indianapolis Metro Police and local ministers are taking the threat of violence on the Fourth of July seriously.

IMPD will be posting extra patrols after receiving reports that groups might try to settle scores in downtown Indianapolis Wednesday night. Volunteers from the Ten Point Coalition who patrol the Circle Centre Mall and the canal to help keep young people in order will also patrol the canal Wednesday night.

Around 200,000 people are expected to attend Wednesday night's Freedom Blast fireworks display, and police want to avoid the kind of panic seen in the streets during the 2010 Summer Celebration, when ten young people were shot during a dispute. More recently, five teens were shot along the downtown canal in March 2012. A 16-year-old male was arrested in connection with that incident.

"This is a celebration for families and our police officers will serve as ambassadors to help ensure everyone has a good time," said acting Metro Police Chief Rick Hite.

Acting Chief Hite has assigned more than 100 police officers downtown on July 4th. He is working closely with IMPD Downtown Commander Karen Arnett to make sure officers are visible. You will see officers on foot, bikes, horseback and at major intersections helping with traffic. The goal is to intercede any potential threat that would interrupt the holiday celebrations.

Rev. Charles Harrison with the Ten Point Coalition, a group that works alongside police to diffuse tension between gangs and young people who frequent downtown in large numbers, says his group is concerned about posts on social media sites that indicated fights could break out.

The group says just last Saturday it helped police head off a potential fight between rivals after the Circle Centre Mall closed.

Now with record crowds expected, the coalition says it's working again after the possibility of another fight surfaced on social media.

"There was chatter on the social media about the possibility of both girl groups and some of the gangs coming downtown who have a beef with one another and they talked about coming down to the canal tonight to fight each other," said Rev. Harrison.

Harrison believes since the same group backed down off of a confrontation this past Saturday night downtown, the coalition may be able to dissipate the tension between the groups online.

"If the parents would keep their kids from coming down here or if the kids come down here they are down here with the parents, then it would prevent a lot of the problems we are experiencing in the downtown area," said Harrison.

The Ten Point Coalition posted the following notice on their Facebook page Monday: "Big time drama Sat. night downtown Indianapolis as youth engaged in fight! We need more parents to either keep their kids away from downtown or be with them on the weekends in Indy! This is getting serious and someone is going to get hurt. We also need more volunteers."

Hite says IMPD is aware of the chatter and prepared to handle it as part of a stepped up holiday presence. He wants fireworks show attendees to alert an officer or call 911 if they see or hear something suspicious downtown Wednesday night. But Hite expects the fireworks event downtown to happen with little to no problems at all.

Meantime, the Ten Point Coalition says it's lobbying officials to impose a curfew of 11:00 pm on weekends for youth aged 17 and under.