Javed Richards
Service Record
Indianapolis Indiana Metropolitan Police Department
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Dates of Service | Hired approximately 2012.[1] |
| Salary | $147,460 (2023)[2] |
| Last Known Status | Suspended[3] |
Commendations
2015 Purple Heart and Medal of Valor Awards
In January 2015, Richards was injured during an incident with Donte Sowell.[4]
On November 5, 2015, Richards received a Purple Heart Award and the Medal of Valor Award.[4]
2017 Unit Citation Award
On November 10, 2017, Richards and other members of the SWAT Negotiator Unit received a Unit Citation Award, "based on overall performance and services rendered to the department and/or community".[5]
Incident Reports
2015 Death of Donte Sowell
On January 15, 2015, officers attempted to stop Sowell, who fled on foot. A shootout occurred, during which Sowell was struck several times and Richards was shot in the foot.[4]
Sowell died at the hospital.[6]
There was no body-worn camera footage from the incident.[6]
Response Timeline
In September 2015, Sowell's family sued, claiming that witnesses saw Sowell attempting to surrender before he was shot.[4]
2024 Child Pornography
On July 14, 2024, Richards distributed at least five sexually explicit videos of minors.[7]
On August 6, 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified the national Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.[3]
The images were traced back to Richards' house.[3]
Response Timeline
On August 16, 2024, the agency's Special Investigation Unit was notified and joined the investigation.[3]
On August 19, 2024, Richards was suspended.[3]
On August 21, 2024, Richards was charged in state court with 13 counts of child exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography. Richards faces up to 162 years in prison.[1][8]
On August 22, 2024, Richards pleaded not guilty.[8]
The agency recommended to the Civilian Police Merit Board that Richards be fired.[1]
Investigators found additional images and videos.[1]
On October 11, 2024 a federal grand jury indicted Richards on five counts of distributing child sexual abuse material and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material. Richards faces up to 20 years in federal prison.[1][7]
LEO Ratings
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Sarah Nelson, IMPD officer facing new sex crime charges after federal indictment, IndyStar, 2024-10-11
- ↑ Javed Richards B, Indianapolis Consolidated City, Sergeant, govSalaries
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Mike Potter, IMPD sergeant out of jail while facing child porn, child exploitation charges, WTHR, 2024-08-29
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Vic Ryckaert, Honored IMPD officer: 'It's not why I do the job', IndyStar, 2015-11-10
- ↑ Annual Report, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Robert King, Lawsuit: IMPD's account of man's shooting death 'entirely uncorroborated', Indy Star, 2015-09-11
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 IMPD Sergeant Facing Federal Charges for Possession and Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material, U.S. Attorney's Office, 2024-10-11
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rachael Wilkerson, More charges filed against IMPD Sgt. accused of sharing child pornography, WRTV, 2024-08-22
Recent articles: Joshua Nahulu, Shevoy Brown, Thomas Mascia, Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas (2019), Gerald Goines
To check for incidents in your area, please use the search page or try a random incident.
