Greenfield Police Deputy Chief Chuck McMichael, left, and Chief Brian Hartman show a selection handguns, some of which have been confiscated during recent incidents. One of the guns is real while two are pellet guns.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — A couple of weeks ago, two local teenagers used a handgun to rob another teen at Riley Park. Police say the two teenagers with the gun pointed the weapon directly at the victim, shinning a laser target onto his chest.
Now, both the teenagers who used the gun are facing serious felony crimes, situations that will impact their future for years to come.
Unfortunately, law enforcement in Hancock County collectively acknowledge crimes like the one mentioned are not rare. County officials are dealing with more and more gun and teenage gun crimes than ever before.
In September alone, police officers throughout the county took 38 different reports involving the use of firearms, with some of those reports including the use of multiple firearms.
The Greenfield Police Department took 19 such reports involving firearms in September, while the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department had 17. The calls included domestic violence, theft, disturbances, robbery, persons shot, found property, threats, juvenile complaints, people with guns, a stolen firearm found in a ditch by a resident, and multiple reports of shots fired throughout the county.
Officers with the GPD say they are also investigating many reports of juveniles pointing firearms at people, like the gun situation at Riley Park and businesses around the Greenfield area. During these investigations, it was determined some of the gun calls involved BB guns that resemble actual firearms. The use of BB guns can be extremely dangerous, officials say, since law enforcement cannot determine until right up on the BB gun if the weapon is real or not.
County law enforcement say it will take a combined effort from police to the prosecutor’s office, all the way to the local judiciary of holding offenders of all ages accountable to keep gun crimes from increasing in the area.
Following a meeting of local law enforcement in September, county officials say it’s time to implement a “zero tolerance” stance when it comes to gun crimes in Hancock County.
“Crimes involving firearms will not be tolerated in Hancock County,” GPD Deputy Chief Chuck McMichael said in a news release this week representing the county’s law enforcement agencies. “Many of these calls have resulted in arrests of both adults and children.”
McMichael noted Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton has committed his support in prosecuting gun cases to the fullest extent of the law. That includes working with the county’s Juvenile Probation Department to ensure kids are held accountable.
“In some instances, teen cases can be tried in adult court, but that varies based on the crime, age of the child and prior history,” McMichael said.
Eaton told the Daily Reporter his office is fully on board with making sure people who commit gun crimes don’t just get a slap on the wrist, regardless of age.
“Our office will continue to work with and support law enforcement’s aggressive enforcement of the law,” Eaton said.
He noted the problem with gun crimes is not the gun, but the person holding the weapon and what they do with it.
“We’re seeing a lot more gun crimes nowadays then we did just a few years ago,” Eaton said. “We are going to be more aggressive on those cases, where as before when there weren’t many, we didn’t have to be.”
The increase in gun crimes is not the only issue, it’s the use of guns by teens that officials feel is leading to the real problems.
With kids committing more crimes with guns, officials say they are now fully investigating how the kid came into possession of the weapon. That could include criminal charges against parents, guardians or other adults, if probable cause exists.
“Adults have a responsibility to ensure that children do not have access to firearms,” McMichael said.
One of the issues officials are dealing with locally is the use of BB guns that look like real guns. Officials want to remind adults that BB guns are not toys and should never be handled by children without adult supervision.
“They are dangerous and misuse can result in severe injury and death,” McMichael said.
The solution to the teen gun issue doesn’t present an easy answer, officials say, but they want parents and guardians to play more of a hands-on role in their children’s lives. If there are firearms in a home, adults must keep them locked up, with ammunition stored separately and secured.
Officials say if a parent or a guardian buys their child a BB gun, the adult must account for it as any other weapon. Law enforcement wants to remind adults that they need to understand children have no expectation of privacy and parents should be going through their child’s cell phone to see who they are communicating with and what they are communicating.
Officials suggest parents should be checking their child’s bedroom and other places they hang out to ensure they don’t possess illegal items such as drugs, alcohol, tobacco or guns.
“These are a parent’s responsibility to ensure their children are safe and healthy, as well as all other children they are with,” McMichael said.
Officials also want to remind people that while new Indiana gun laws allow adults to carry handguns without permits in the state of Indiana, it is still unlawful to possess a firearm on school property. That includes playgrounds and ball fields.
Hancock County gun reports for September 2022
Greenfield Police Dept. — 19 reports
Hancock County Sheriff’s Dept. — 17 reports
McCordsville Police Dept. — 6 reports
Cumberland Police Dept. — 4 reports, 13 different firearms
New Palestine Police Dept. — 2 reports
Fortville Police Dept. — 1 report
