Carl Brizzi for Prosecutor

Our position: No need to rush to judgment about City-County Council member's future in the position.

Calls for Ron Gibson to step aside as a member of the Indianapolis City-County Council are premature.

The accusations against Gibson, including a charge of battery against a law officer, are indeed serious. If he is eventually convicted of shoving a Marion County Sheriff's detective, he should immediately resign from his at-large seat on the council. Fraternal Order of Police President Vince Huber already has called on Gibson to step down. Council Minority Leader Phil Borst said this week that Gibson should step aside until the case is settled. But there's no need to rush toward that decision.

Gibson, a Democrat serving in his second term, is accused of twice shoving Detective Jean Burkert outside the Blu Lounge, a Downtown Indianapolis nightclub, on July 16. He's also facing misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Gibson, who was not arrested at the time of the incident, strongly denies the accusations.

A few of Gibson's defenders have accused the Marion County Prosecutor's Office of playing politics with the case. It's true that Republican Prosecutor Carl Brizzi is locked in a high-profile race with challenger Melina Kennedy. But the facts don't support the contention that partisanship is at work in this instance.

Brizzi asked Presiding Judge Cale Bradford to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the accusations. Barry Brown, a former Democratic prosecutor from Monroe County, handled the inquiry and filed the charges against Gibson. "The victim was a trained police officer,'' Brown told Star reporter Jon Murray. "She's had experience detecting and observing individuals who are in an intoxicated state. She made a judgment call.''

Gibson, if he decides to seek re-election, will face Marion County voters next year. They can make their own judgment at that time about his qualifications.
If, in the meantime, the charges are proven, then Gibson has no business staying on the council. For now, however, he should continue to serve.