CHAPTER 4. POLICE AND FIRE EMPLOYMENT POLICIES IN CITIES
IC 36-8-4
Chapter 4. Police and Fire Employment Policies in Cities
IC 36-8-4-1
Application of chapter
Sec. 1. This chapter applies to all cities.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53.
IC 36-8-4-2
Residence requirements
Sec. 2. (a) Members of the police and fire departments must reside
in Indiana within:
(1) the county in which the city is located; or
(2) a county that is contiguous to the county in which the city is
located.
(b) In a consolidated city, a member who was residing outside the
county on January 1, 1975, is exempt from subsection (a).
(c) A city with a population of less than seven thousand five
hundred (7,500) may adopt an ordinance that requires a member of
the city's police or fire department to comply with the following:
(1) Reside within the county in which the city is located.
(2) Have adequate means of transportation into the city.
(3) Maintain in the member's residence telephone service with
the city.
(d) This subsection applies to a city that:
(1) has a population of less than seven thousand five hundred
(7,500); and
(2) adopted an ordinance to establish the requirements
described in this subsection before September 1, 1984.
A city may require, in addition to the requirements of subsection (c),
that a member of the police or fire department reside within the city
until the member has served in the department for five (5) years.
(e) An ordinance adopted under subsection (c) or described in
subsection (d)(2) may not require a member of a city's police or fire
department to reside within the county in which the city is located if
the member resides outside the county on the date the ordinance is
adopted.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.44, SEC.56; P.L.198-1984, SEC.1; P.L.266-1993, SEC.1;
P.L.164-1995, SEC.21; P.L.235-1996, SEC.1; P.L.230-1997, SEC.1;
P.L.65-2008, SEC.1.
IC 36-8-4-3
Use of departmental vehicles
Sec. 3. Members of the police and fire departments may not use
vehicles owned or maintained by their department outside the county
in which the city is located except during the performance of official
duties or as provided for by department regulation.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53. Amended by P.L.199-1984,
SEC.1.
IC 36-8-4-4
Provision of uniforms and equipment; cash allowance
Revisor's Note: IC 36-8-4-4, as added by Acts 1981, P.L.309,
SEC.53 (which was effective 9-1-1981 until 7-1-2009), was printed
incorrectly in the 1993 Edition of the Indiana Code but was correctly
printed in the 1994 Supplement to the Indiana Code and subsequent
Supplements and Editions of the Indiana Code through the 2004
Edition.
Sec. 4. (a) A city shall provide the active members of the police
and fire departments with all uniforms, clothing, arms, and
equipment necessary to perform their duties. Except as provided in
section 4.5 of this chapter, after one (1) year of regular service in
either department, a member may be required by the city to furnish
and maintain all of the active member's uniforms, clothing, arms, and
equipment upon payment to the member by the city of an annual cash
allowance of at least two hundred dollars ($200). The city may credit
the uniform allowance to each member against the active member's
purchases during the calendar year and provide for the payment of
any cash balance remaining at the end of the calendar year.
(b) All uniforms, clothing, arms, and equipment provided by the
city under this section remain the property of the city. The city may
sell the property when it becomes unfit for use, and all money
received shall be paid into the general fund of the city. Any property
lost or destroyed through the carelessness or neglect of an active
member shall be charged against the active member and the value
deducted from the active member's pay.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53. Amended by P.L.8-2009,
SEC.1.
IC 36-8-4-4.5
Body armor for active members of police departments
Sec. 4.5. (a) As used in this section, "body armor" has the
meaning set forth in IC 35-47-5-13(a).
(b) A city shall provide an active member of the police department
of the city with body armor for the torso. The city shall replace the
body armor for the torso according to the replacement period
recommended by the manufacturer of the body armor for the torso.
(c) An active member of the police department of a city shall not
be required to maintain the body armor for the torso furnished under
this section from any annual cash allowance paid to the member
under section 4(a) of this chapter.
(d) Body armor for the torso provided by a city under this section
remains the property of the city. The city may sell the property when
it becomes unfit for use, and all money received shall be paid into the
general fund of the city.
As added by P.L.8-2009, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.34-2010, SEC.6.
IC 36-8-4-5
Care of police officers and firefighters injured or contracting
illnesses as a result of performance of duties
Sec. 5. (a) A city shall pay for the care of a police officer or
firefighter who suffers an injury while performing the person's duty
or contracts illness caused by the performance of the person's duty,
including an injury or illness that results in a disability or death
presumed incurred in the line of duty under IC 5-10-13. This care
includes:
(1) medical and surgical care;
(2) medicines and laboratory, curative, and palliative agents and
means;
(3) X-ray, diagnostic, and therapeutic service, including during
the recovery period; and
(4) hospital and special nursing care if the physician or surgeon
in charge considers it necessary for proper recovery.
(b) Expenditures required by subsection (a) shall be paid from the
general fund of the city.
(c) A city that has paid for the care of a police officer or
firefighter under subsection (a) has a cause of action for
reimbursement of the amount paid under subsection (a) against any
third party against whom the police officer or firefighter has a cause
of action for an injury sustained because of or an illness caused by
the third party. The city's cause of action under this subsection is in
addition to, and not in lieu of, the cause of action of the police officer
or firefighter against the third party.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53. Amended by P.L.169-1994,
SEC.1; P.L.185-2002, SEC.4.
IC 36-8-4-6
Promotions
Sec. 6. (a) This section applies only to:
(1) police departments in second and third class cities having a
population of ten thousand (10,000) or more; and
(2) fire departments in second and third class cities;
that are not governed by a merit system prescribed by statute or
ordinance.
(b) Promotion of police officers or firefighters must be from the
active personnel of the department.
(c) A person appointed fire chief must have had at least five (5)
years of continuous service with the department immediately before
his appointment. However, this requirement may be waived by a
majority vote of the city legislative body upon request of the city
executive, although the person must still have at least five (5) years
service with a full-time, paid fire department or agency.
(d) A person appointed to a rank other than police or fire chief or
deputy police chief must have had at least two (2) years of
continuous service with the department immediately before his
appointment.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.315, SEC.4; P.L.348-1987, SEC.2.
IC 36-8-4-6.5
Police chiefs or deputy police chiefs; requirements
Sec. 6.5. (a) This section applies to the appointment of a police
chief or deputy police chief in all cities.
(b) An applicant must meet the following requirements:
(1) Have five (5) years of service as a police officer with a
full-time, paid police department or agency.
(2) Be a citizen of the United States.
(3) Be a high school graduate or equivalent.
(4) Be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
(5) Be free of mental illness.
(6) Be physically fit.
(7) Have successfully completed the minimum basic training
requirements established by the law enforcement training board
under IC 5-2-1, or have continuous service with the same
department to which the applicant was appointed as a law
enforcement officer before July 6, 1972.
(c) In addition to the requirements of subsection (b), an applicant
for appointment as police chief or deputy police chief must have at
least five (5) years of continuous service with the police department
of that city immediately before the appointment. This requirement
may be waived by the city executive.
As added by P.L.348-1987, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.148-1992,
SEC.3; P.L.68-1996, SEC.8.
IC 36-8-4-7
Age limitations; aptitude, physical agility, and physical
examinations
Sec. 7. (a) A person may not be appointed as a member of the
police department or fire department after the person has reached
thirty-six (36) years of age. A person may be reappointed as a
member of the department only if the person is a former member or
a retired member not yet receiving retirement benefits of the 1925,
1937, 1953, or 1977 fund and can complete twenty (20) years of
service before reaching sixty (60) years of age.
(b) This section does not apply to a fire chief appointed under a
waiver under section 6(c) of this chapter or a police chief appointed
under a waiver under section 6.5(c) of this chapter.
(c) A person must pass the aptitude, physical agility, and physical
examination required by the local board of the fund and by
IC 36-8-8-19 to be appointed or reappointed as a member of the
department.
(d) A fire chief appointed under a waiver under section 6(c) of
this chapter or police chief appointed under a waiver under section
6.5(c) of this chapter who is receiving, or is entitled to receive,
benefits from the 1925, 1937, 1953, or 1977 fund may receive those
benefits while serving as chief, subject to all normal requirements for
receipt of a benefit, including a separation from service.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.315, SEC.5; P.L.38-1986, SEC.3; P.L.55-1987, SEC.3;
P.L.4-1992, SEC.31; P.L.213-1995, SEC.4; P.L.246-2001, SEC.13.
IC 36-8-4-8
Police officers; maximum work week; compensation for additional
time
Sec. 8. (a) A member of the police department may not be
required, except in case of a public emergency as determined by the
city executive, to work more than six (6) days of eight (8) hours each
in one (1) week, or more than an average of forty-eight (48) hours
per week in one (1) year.
(b) If a member of the police department is requested or required
to appear in court or to perform another service, and the time served
does not fall within the limits of his normal eight (8) hour shift, then
the member may be compensated for the additional time at a rate to
be fixed by ordinance.
(c) This section does not apply to the police chief, chief of
detectives, superintendent of the department, or matron of the
department.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53.
IC 36-8-4-9
Firefighters; hours of work
Sec. 9. (a) A member of a regularly organized and paid fire
department may not be required to work more than an average of
fifty-six (56) hours per week. However, if on September 1, 1985, a
fire department was using sixty-three (63) hours as the maximum
average number of hours a member could work a week, the
department may continue to use that figure as the standard. A
member may not be on duty more than twenty-four (24) consecutive
hours and must be off duty at least twenty-four (24) consecutive
hours out of any forty-eight (48) hour period. Each member is
entitled to an additional twenty-four (24) consecutive hours off duty
in every eight (8) day period.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), in case of emergency, or if the
personnel of the fire department has been reduced below its regular
strength because members are serving in the armed forces of the
United States, the chief of the fire department, the assistant chief, or
other officer in charge may assign a member of the fire department
to continuous duty during the emergency.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53. Amended by P.L.343-1985,
SEC.1.
IC 36-8-4-10
Public safety officers; preference for employment
Sec. 10. (a) Subject to subsection (c), the board or persons having
the authority to employ members of the fire or police department
shall give a preference for employment according to the following
priority:
(1) A war veteran who has been honorably discharged from the
United States armed forces.
(2) A person whose mother or father was a:
(A) firefighter of a unit;
(B) municipal police officer; or
(C) county police officer;
who died in the line of duty (as defined in IC 5-10-10-2).
(b) Subject to subsection (c), the board or person having the
authority to employ members of a fire or police department may give
a preference for employment to any of the following:
(1) A police officer or firefighter laid off by another city under
section 11 of this chapter.
(2) A county police officer laid off by a sheriff's department
under IC 36-8-10-11.1.
(3) A person who:
(A) was employed full-time or part-time by a township to
provide fire protection and emergency services; and
(B) has been laid off by the township.
(c) A person described in subsection (a) or (b) may not receive a
preference for employment unless the person:
(1) applies; and
(2) meets all employment requirements prescribed:
(A) by law, including physical and age requirements; and
(B) by the fire or police department.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.53. Amended by P.L.95-2003,
SEC.1; P.L.110-2010, SEC.35.
IC 36-8-4-11
Layoffs; reinstatement
Sec. 11. (a) If it is necessary for the safety board to reduce the
number of members of the police or fire department by layoff for
financial reasons, the last member appointed must be the first to be
laid off, with other members also laid off in reverse hiring order,
until the desired level is achieved.
(b) If the department is increased in number again, the members
of the department who have been laid off under this section shall be
reinstated before any new member is appointed to the department.
The reinstatements begin with the last member laid off.
(c) A member who is laid off shall keep the appointing authority
advised of the member's current address. A member shall be
informed of the member's reinstatement by written notice sent by
certified mail to the member's last known address. Within twenty
(20) calendar days after notice of reinstatement is sent to a member,
the member must advise the hiring body that the member accepts
reinstatement and will be able to commence employment on the date
specified in the notice. All reinstatement rights granted to a member
terminate upon the member's failure to accept reinstatement within
that twenty (20) day period or five (5) years after the day on which
a member's layoff begins.
As added by P.L.361-1983, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.344-1985,
SEC.1; P.L.56-2010, SEC.1.
IC 36-8-4-12
Probationary appointments
Sec. 12. The safety board may provide that all appointments to the
police or fire department are probationary for a period not to exceed
one (1) year. If the safety board finds, upon the recommendation of
the chief of the department during the probationary period, that the
conduct or capacity of a member is not satisfactory, the safety board
shall notify the member in writing that he is being suspended or that
he will not receive a permanent appointment. If a member is notified
that he will not receive a permanent appointment, his employment
immediately ceases. Otherwise, at the expiration of the probationary
period, the member is considered regularly employed.
As added by P.L.361-1983, SEC.2.