MARION COUNTY, Ind. — The job of Marion County prosecutor is up for grabs this year as current prosecutor Ryan Mears takes on Republican challenger Cyndi Carrasco, whom says she can bring rock solid practice and policy to the prosecutor’s office.
In an interview on Tony Katz Today Wednesday, Carrasco says she wants to rebuild the relationship with the prosecutor’s office and the community.
“I would definitely bring back a community prosecutor program,” says Carrasco.
Her idea for that program is to install a deputy prosecutor in the community, who can strengthen current relationships and build new ones. She says the key is to get people to openly communicate with police and the prosecutor’s office. On several occasions within the last year, representatives with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department have said eye witnesses who are willing to come forward with valuable info help detectives solve violent crime.
“That deputy prosecutor would be at your neighborhood watch meetings and your homeowner association meetings. Let me tell you, I’ve been traveling and I’ve gone to homeowners association meetings, and you see there’s an IMPD officer at every one of those meetings. I don’t see anyone from the prosecutor’s office. I want to change that and I want to build a partnership,” says Carrasco.
She says that kind of grassroots effort is going to make a true difference in the city.
Carrasco also proposed the idea of creating a Red Flag division, named after the state’s Red Flag law, which allows the seizure of a gun from someone whom police and the prosecutor’s office may be a danger to themselves or others.
“Let’s get this straight – you actually have to have a prosecutor that’s going to use the law.”
Election day is Tuesday, November 8th.
