Indianapolis police officer facing charges related to growing marijuana

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

FILE - This photo from Tuesday Jan. 14, 2020, shows cannabis growing at Revolution Global's cannabis cultivation center in Delavan, Ill. New York has failed in recent years to pass marijuana legalization, but a state senator said lawmakers have reached an agreement to legalize marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

By: Andrew Smith

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis police officer is facing charges related to growing marijuana, according to police and court records.

Christina Slack, a 22-year-veteran of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, was charged Tuesday with possession of marijuana growing or cultivating marijuana and possession of marijuana where a defendant knows it is growing on-premise and fails to destroy, according to IMPD and court records.

IMPD Special Investigation Unit detectives began to investigate the officer after officers were called on Dec. 27, 2021, to a disturbance in the 2900 block of South Pasadena Street, according to a release from IMPD. Slack was off-duty at the time.

After detectives finished their investigation, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office filed charges.

IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said hearing about the charges was a disappointment for him and the entire department.

“At the same time, I appreciate the work of detectives within the department who investigated this incident to the fullest,” he said in the release.

Slack was most recently appointed to IMPD's North District. Slack will be suspended pending and a recommendation of termination will be submitted to the Civilian Police Merit Board.

An initial hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 26.