Number of reported child abuse cases decreased in 2007
INDIANAPOLIS – The state is marking the hiring of more than 800 new child welfare caseworkers since Gov. Mitch Daniels took office in January 2005.\nThe Department of Child Services also released a report that said 36 children died as a result of abuse or neglect in 2007, down from 53 the year before.\nDaniels attended a statehouse swearing-in ceremony of 29 child-welfare case workers and three child-support staffers.\nHe said Indiana has gone from having one of the nation’s worst child welfare systems to having one of the best. The progress has resulted from having a new child welfare agency to improved training and protocols and more caseworkers.
2 women found dead in Fort Wayne home
FORT WAYNE – Two women were found dead in a Fort Wayne home by police responding to a 911 call.\nFamily and friends told The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne that both women were shot, and one was eight months pregnant.\nFort Wayne Police Sgt. Mitch McKinney said they were called to the home near the former State Developmental Center at about 6:30 a.m. Monday. Officers found the back door of the single-story, ranch-style home unlocked and the two bodies inside. Police said the cause of death was not immediately known.\nRelatives said one of the victims had four children, who were with their father during spring break. Police say no children were in the home when they arrived.
Prosecutors drop charge against cop for kicking teen
INDIANAPOLIS -- Prosecutors have dropped a battery charge against a city police officer accused of unnecessarily kicking a teenager during last year’s Black Expo Summer Celebration.\nIn an agreement with Marion County prosecutors, Officer Adam Chappell will take a police training course on excessive force. Chappell, 29, had been scheduled to go on trial Monday, but his attorney and prosecutors told the judge they had reached the diversion agreement.\nDeputy Prosecutor David Wyser said the officer used poor judgment but that the agreement was a proper resolution for the case.\nA police department video showed Chappell kicking 17-year-old Brian Jetter in the head while other officers held him down in a downtown parking lot about 10 p.m. July 21, authorities said.\nJetter, now 18, of Rockford, Ill., was arrested by officers on charges of resisting arrest and public intoxication, but prosecutors decided against filing any formal charges against him.\nJetter’s aunt, Sherryre Simmons, said she believed Chappell was getting off lightly.\n“If I walked up and punched an officer in the face, I’m going to go to jail,” she said.\nChappell’s attorney, John Kautzman, said the officer welcomed the additional training but was not admitting guilt or liability.
