Arp resolution investigating Mayor Henry fails on vote

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (WANE) — Fort Wayne City Councilman Jason Arp planned to open an investigation into the arrest of Mayor Tom Henry for operating while intoxicated last October.

However, a majority of council members struck down the resolution after failing to pass the introduction by a vote of 3 to 6.

Only council members Glynn Hines, Paul Ensley and Jason Arp voted in favor of the resolution.

City of Fort Wayne spokesman John Perlich released a statement Tuesday night on the resolution after it failed to pass:

We are glad that a resolution tabled by Councilor Arp was defeated at the introductory stage.

The community has moved on from Mayor Henry’s incident last fall. Mayor Henry has duly followed every step since the incident last October.

We don’t think it would have been appropriate to spend taxpayers’ money on a matter that has already been settled in court.

In Arp’s resolution, he wrote that the members of the council voting in favor of his proposal would be:

“Authorized to conduct an investigation into the events surrounding and leading up to the arrest of Mayor Tom Henry, which took place on October 8, 2022, all prior similar events, including, but not limited to, any detention, investigation, indictment, plea Agreement, or condemnation of Mayor Tom Henry. The investigation includes, but is not limited to, the investigation of Mayor Tom Henry and the city’s departments, officers, employees and representatives, and anyone else involved in any aspect of the handling of events surrounding and prior to the Mayor’s arrest are Tom Henry, which took place on October 8, 2022, all previous similar events including but not limited to officers of the City of Fort Wayne Police Department.

With several Council members voting both ways, members of both sides had a say on the resolution.

Councilor Russ Jehl, who recently suggested hiring a third party to examine the bodycam footage of Mayor Henry’s arrest, said he voted against Arp’s resolution because he felt there was too much political clout.

“A mayoral candidate who introduces this bill is inherently political, regardless of the sponsor’s good intentions,” Jehl said.

Councilor Geoff Paddock, who voted against induction for the first time as a councillor, said he believed Mayor Henry had “made amends” and apologized for his actions.

Fort Wayne police arrested Henry after he crashed into another car on a roundabout on Old Mill Road near Foster Park on October 8.

Henry’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit, and he told officers at the scene that he was at an event where he drank wine.

In the weeks that followed, the media clamored for police bodycam footage of the incident, which was finally released towards the end of December.

Footage showed that Henry sometimes showed respect for officers at the crime scene and sometimes showed anger and told one he would not forget to be put in the back seat of a police vehicle.

Henry later pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated.

Arp previously tried to come up with a proposal that would have cut Henry’s operating budget. This proposal was rejected by other council members.