CREW requests Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department records on Mike Pence

Under the Freedom of Information Act, CREW requests copies of all records concerning the costs to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department of providing a police escort and any other protection to Vice President Mike Pence and his entourage while he visited Indianapolis on Sunday, October 8, 2017, to attend the Indianapolis Colt’s football game.  Published photographs and footage of the Vice President’s Indianapolis trip show squad cars accompanying him that appear to be those of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

By way of background, Vice President Pence’s trip to Indianapolis last Sunday to attend a football game has been widely criticized as a political stunt undertaken at the urging of President Donald Trump and likely to increase political giving at the fundraising event the Vice President attended in Los Angeles after a brief appearance at the game.  Public attention has focused on the cost of this travel, with CNN estimating the air travel alone cost about $242,500. In addition, the Vice President’s attendance at such a widely-attended event caused great disruption and a cost to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department of providing police protection during the Vice President’s visit.  The requested records will shed further light on the costs associated with this trip that federal and state taxpayers must bear, and the divergence of resources for local entities like the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.