Apr. 13—ANDERSON — The Anderson police chief says officers acted appropriately in searching for a stolen wallet at the home of a city councilman's mother.

The councilman, Ty Bibbs, and his mother, Mandy Bibbs, vehemently disagree.

Three police officers went to Mandy Bibbs' home in the 800 block of West 12th Street on March 25 after receiving a report about the stolen wallet.

On Monday, Anderson Police Chief Mike Lee released a statement saying an internal investigation determined that the three officers involved acted appropriately.

Ty Bibbs wants to know more.

On Monday, he submitted an open records request to the Anderson Board of Public Safety for the name of the woman who reported the theft, name and rank of the three officers, body cam footage and investigative materials by the police department's executive staff.

"I'm disappointed the chief continues to deflect on this situation," Ty Bibbs said Wednesday.

"Now that I have submitted a Freedom of Information request, I expect a response in a timely manner," he said. "This could have been resolved on March 25 if the chief provided the narrative and how and why the officers showed up at her house."

Anderson City Attorney Paul Podlejski confirmed that he received Ty Bibbs' request and said he needed a reasonable amount of time to fully investigate and respond.

On Tuesday, police posted body-camera videos of officers at Mandy Bibbs' home during the March 25 incident. The videos can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/@cityofandersonindiana2908/videos.

The officers went to Many Bibbs' home that day after a woman told police her wallet was stolen from her car while it was parked in the 1400 block of Sherman Street two days before. An Apple AirTag tracking device showed the wallet to be in the area of West 12th Street, according to police.

Bibbs contends that the three officers disturbed his mother by searching the porch, yard, trash cans and underneath his car.

The video shows the officers explaining to Bibbs' mother why they were at her property and the reason for the search. Mandy Bibbs appears to give the officers permission to search the property.

"Oh, that's fine," she says at one point to one of the officers. "Go right ahead."

But, in an email forwarded to The Herald Bulletin from Ty Bibbs, his mother said she is "very upset and disheartened by my recent interaction with the Anderson Police Department."

"I was disrupted at my home by banging on the door about stolen property," Mandy Bibbs wrote. "There were 3 officers at the door with the woman who claimed her property was at my home based on an AirTag location. This was traumatic for me that 3 police officers and an accuser would be needed for such a call.

"I am a victim here as well but was treated otherwise. I was humiliated and accused of being a thief at my own home, all while minding my business and not bothering anyone."

Chief Lee defended the officers' actions, noting they are trained to search for missing property.

"There is no indication that the officers believed anyone associated with the address or car was suspected of a crime," Lee said in an email.

Later on March 25, the AirTag was located about 500 feet away from Mandy Bibbs' home in a parking lot, but the wallet was not found.

"Your concern for your mother is admirable, but jumping to unsubstantiated conclusions and making remarks that are disparaging to our city police department is not, in my view," Lee wrote in an email to Ty Bibbs on Monday.

At one point during the search, the AirTag signal indicated the missing wallet might be located in Ty Bibbs' car parked near the West 12th Street home. Mandy Bibbs agreed to unlock the vehicle, according to police.

But before a search of the car could be conducted, the AirTag signal was lost, and officers did not search the car.

"The officers even went so far as to ask my mom to UNLOCK MY CAR, which was parked out front," Ty Bibbs said in an email to Lee. "Clearly, after running the plates on my car, the officers should have known that a sitting Common Council member did not have a STOLEN woman's bill fold in HIS car.

"If I am not satisfied that this heinous incident is properly investigated by APD, I will be contacting the Indiana State Police."

Lee explained in the Monday email to Ty Bibbs why police decided to release the police body-camera video.

"Due to the reference to the matter as being a 'heinous incident' and suggesting motivations not supported by the evidence, coupled with the wide-spread dissemination of this misinformation, the city attorney and the mayor have authorized the release of the bodycam footage," Lee wrote.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.