FABIO GOES SHOPPING
THE SECURITY ALARM sounds at 9:55 a.m. on a sunny Monday in May. The source of the high-pitched squeal is hard to pinpoint as it bounces off the barbed wire–topped walls that protect the lots of several nearby businesses. Most of the dignitaries, reporters, and even police officers gathered on the fresh blacktop in front of the new IMPD Northwest District headquarters between Lafayette Road and West 38th Street seem not to care or even notice. They just raise their voices over the incessant electronic scream.
The collective shrug underscores the reason for this gathering of 40 or so people—including Mayor Joe Hogsett, City-County Council President Vop Osili, and other local officials—for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a state-of-the-art police station. It’s no secret that this area has seen a rise in crime over the past several decades as big-name retail, offices, and outside investment have fled. IMPD Northwest Commander Lorenzo Lewis mentions that this new space is conveniently located within minutes of about five major hotspots that he monitors daily.
But neither Lewis nor IMPD Chief Randal Taylor chose this location. Neither did the mayor or the City-County Council. The spot was selected by the man who owns the property and says he fronted millions of dollars to build the 14,000-square-foot facility complete with a holding cell, two interview rooms, evidence technician room, bicycle room, gym, kitchen, wellness room, and a 35-seat community space—the first purpose-built IMPD headquarters in almost 30 years. The benefactor is the only person not elected to office or in uniform seated beside the podium as the proceedings begin, and yet his name is on the lips of every person who steps to the microphone.
“A stakeholder came to us and said he wanted to do this for us,” says Lewis to the crowd. “We talk about community police, but forget how important our business owners and landlords are. Let me introduce Mr. Fabio de la Cruz.”
De la Cruz walks to the podium, put together in a crisp black suit, white shirt, and arrow-straight yellow-and-blue-striped tie. His salt-and-pepper hair is a bit too naturally curly to cooperate with an attempt at slicking it back. His pristine white
