(A) Tenure; Chief; appointment and qualifications.
(1) The Commission may appoint and remove members of the Department, except for a member in an upper level policymaking position. The executive of the city shall appoint and may remove a member in an upper level policymaking position.
(2) To be appointed Chief or Deputy Chief of the Police Department, an applicant must meet the qualifications in I.C. 36-8-4-6.5.
(3) The removal of a member from an upper level policymaking position is removal from rank only and not from the Department. When the member is removed, he or she shall be appointed by the Commission to the rank in the Department that he or she held at the time of his or her upper level appointment or to any rank to which he or she had been promoted during his or her tenure in the upper level position. If a rank is not open in either case, the member is entitled to the pay of that rank and shall be promoted to that rank as soon as an opening is available.
(Prior Code, § 34.086)
(B) Members; appointment; qualifications; applications; general aptitude test; ratings; eligibility list; vacancies; physical agility test; probation.
(1) (a) To be appointed to the Department, an applicant must be:
1. A citizen of the United States;
2. A high school graduate or equivalent; and
3. At least 21 years of age, but under 36 years of age.
(b) However, the age requirements do not apply to a person who has been previously employed as a member of the Department.
(2) A person may not be appointed, reappointed, or reinstated if he or she has a felony conviction on his or her record.
(3) Applications for appointment or reappointment to the Department must be filed with the Commission. The applicant must produce satisfactory proof of the date and place of his or her birth.
(4) (a) Applicants for appointment or reappointment to the Department must pass the general aptitude test required under I.C. 36-8-3.2-3 or 36-8-3.2-3.5. The general aptitude test shall:
1. Reflect the essential functions of the job;
2. Be conducted according to procedures adopted by the Commission; and
3. Be administered in a manner that reasonably accommodates the needs of disabled applicants.
(b) The results of the general aptitude test shall be filed with the Commission. If the Commission finds that the applicant lacks the proper qualifications, it shall reject the applicant.
(5) The applicants shall then be rated on the selection criteria and testing methods adopted by the Commission, which may include mental alertness, character, habits, and reputation. The Commission shall adopt rules for grading the applicants, including the establishment of a passing score. The Commission shall place the names of applicants with passing scores on an eligibility list by the order of their scores and shall certify the list to the Board of Public Works and Safety. All applicants for appointment to the department who have achieved a passing score on the written enhance qualification and have met all other criteria set forth by the Police Merit Commission, and who, at the time of the examination, are and have been continuously, for a period of not less than 12 months prior to the date of examination, a resident of the city, shall be granted by the Commission a credit of 15% on his or her oral examination score. Residency shall be determined in keeping with I.C. 3-5-5-1 et seq. (Standards for Determining Residency).
(6) If an applicant for original appointment reaches his or her thirty-sixth birthday, his or her name shall be removed from the eligibility list. Applicants remain on the list for two years from the date of certification. After two years, a person may reapply as an applicant.
(7) When a vacancy occurs in the Department, the Commission, upon a written request of the Chief of the Department, shall administer the physical agility test under I.C. 36-8-3.2-3 or 36-8-3.2-3.5 to the applicant having the highest score on the eligibility list. If the appointed applicant successfully completes the physical agility test, the applicant shall then be enrolled as a member of the Department to fill the vacancy if:
(a) The applicant is still of good character; and
(b) The applicant passes the required examinations identified in I.C. 36-8-3.2-6 and 36-8-8-19.
(8) All appointments are probationary for a period not to exceed one year. If the Commission finds, upon the recommendation of the Department during the probationary period, that the conduct or capacity of the probationary member is not satisfactory, the Commission shall notify him or her in writing that he or she is being reprimanded, that he or she is being suspended, or that he or she will not receive a permanent appointment. If a member is notified that he or she will not receive a permanent appointment, his or her employment immediately ceases. Otherwise, at the expiration of the probationary period the member is considered regularly employed.
(Prior Code, § 34.087)
(Ord. 0-03-0031, passed - -2003; Ord. 13-0012, passed 5-28-2013)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see I.C. 36-8-3.5-11 and 36-8-3.5-12