The Political Spotlight - Episodes Tagged with “Indiana State Police”

#724 | Sunday, August 30, 2026 | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0400

In this 724th episode of The Political Spotlight, Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey first updates listeners on the status of the tech issues.

From there, Bilbrey shares his thoughts on the wild weekend in the City of Muncie. Both Friday, August 28, and Saturday, August 29, 2026, saw heavy police activity across the city—particularly downtown and on the Southside—with Saturday night by far the worst.

The night began with violence at a boxing event at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts, where five people reportedly jumped on and brutally attacked one man.

From there, attention shifted to a large gathering at Southway Plaza on Madison Street, which quickly got out of control. The response expanded beyond the Muncie Police Department to include Delaware County sheriff's deputies, Indiana State Police, officers from several smaller Delaware County departments, and even the Henry County Sheriff's Department.

And it didn't stop there.

Police spent much of the early morning hours responding to calls involving armed individuals, vehicles moving around Muncie, reports of people displaying high-powered firearms from car windows, disturbances at gas stations, and multiple shots-fired calls.

Bilbrey shares his thoughts on what happened, what it indicates about the public-safety situation in Muncie, and what city officials need to focus on going forward.

Then we head north to Fort Wayne, where the fight over Flock surveillance cameras took another major turn.

Last week, Fort Wayne officials voted to end the city's Flock contract. Questions then arose about whether police might try to preserve the system. However, Mayor Sharon Tucker ultimately made it clear: the contract is ending, and the Flock cameras are coming down.

That matters for Muncie.

As Muncie continues to grapple with serious crime and public-safety concerns, there will inevitably be pressure to adopt more technology, more surveillance, and more government tools to fight crime.

Yet public safety and constitutional liberty are not mutually exclusive.

Muncie officials should closely watch what happened in Fort Wayne before expanding surveillance systems here.

Bilbrey also turns his attention to Henry County, including the county's budget situation and last week's Henry County Commissioners meeting.

Finally, Bilbrey looks ahead to the upcoming Muncie City Council meeting on Monday, September 14, 2026 — what's coming before the council, what citizens should watch, and why local government deserves just as much scrutiny as anything happening in Washington.

Crime. Public safety. Government surveillance. County budgets. City government. Accountability.

Because what happens in your community matters!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

VIDEO version of Ep 724: https://youtube.com/live/A5Keu_fUvIM

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday — Thursday at 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Connect with The Political Spotlight team on social media:
Facebook 1: https://www.facebook.com/Bilbrey318
Facebook 2: https://www.facebook.com/PoliticalSpotlight318
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight
Twitter: https://x.com/BilbreyLIVE
Email: tpsprogram@gmail.com

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🚨🚨🚨
'The Political Spotlight'
LIVE Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. (ET)
Hosted by: Kristopher H. Bilbrey
Produced by: Kate Thornburg & Brandon Rudd
https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight
https://rumble.com/c/ThePoliticalSpotlight
https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
https://www.facebook.com/Bilbrey318
https://www.facebook.com/PoliticalSpotlight318
https://www.tiktok.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight
https://x.com/BilbreyLIVE
Email: tpsprogram@gmail.com
© 2026 Mud Creek Studio.
—

#715 | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:00:00 -0400

After initial rumors in early 2026 that something was amiss at the Delaware County EMS office, the story began to unfold publicly on March 12, 2026, when The Political Spotlight reported that longtime Delaware County EMS Office Manager Meagan R. Coutinho was no longer employed by Delaware County amid allegations of an internal theft investigation.

On March 23, 2026, the situation escalated dramatically when Delaware County Commissioners announced the suspension of County EMA Director John Coutinho — Meagan Coutinho’s husband — and County EMS Director Mike Ashley, as the Indiana State Police investigation into the alleged theft continued.

The investigation ultimately led to the arrest of Meagan R. Coutinho on June 3, 2026, and to the public release of the Probable Cause Affidavit, which detailed what Indiana State Police investigators alleged had occurred within Delaware County government and beyond.

━━━━━━

More than five months after The Political Spotlight first publicly reported that something was happening inside the Delaware County EMS office, and more than two months after the arrest, the case has reached another major milestone.

On Tuesday, August 11, 2026, the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office formally filed 10 felony counts against Meagan R. Coutinho, including multiple counts of Theft and Fraud, as well as one count each of Conflict of Interest and Official Misconduct.

The formal charges stem from allegations involving approximately $181,749.93 in unauthorized compensation, thousands of hours of allegedly unauthorized overtime, money allegedly taken or diverted from a Delaware County EMS-related account, undeposited checks payable to Delaware County EMS, allegations related to retirement funds or benefits, an alleged conflict of interest involving a private cleaning company that received money from Delaware County, and, last but not least, allegations of theft from the Delta High School Girls Golf Boosters.

In this 715th episode of The Political Spotlight, Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey takes viewers through a recap of the entire timeline — from the first rumblings of trouble inside Delaware County EMS to the Indiana State Police investigation, the June arrest, and the official filing of 10 felony charges by Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman.

━━━━━━

Beyond the criminal allegations, several important questions remain for Delaware County Government:

If the allegations are true, how could this have persisted for years without detection?

Who was responsible for reviewing payroll?

Who authorized — or failed to question — thousands of hours of overtime?

What internal controls were in place?

Who was overseeing the funds?

What changes, if any, have been made to ensure that something like this cannot happen again?

And one of the most important questions of all:

Was Husband John Coutinho, or anyone else, involved?

━━━━━━

Meagan R. Coutinho is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. The allegations in the charging documents and Probable Cause Affidavit remain allegations unless established through the judicial process.

In this 715th episode of The Political Spotlight, Bilbrey leads the audience through the paper trail, examines the charges, breaks down the potential penalties, and continues to ask the questions Delaware County taxpayers deserve answers to.

━━━━━━

Timeline of other episodes connected to this topic:

First Mention: Episode 618 (03.12.26):
https://youtube.com/live/KHsZo1vua7A . . .

Commissioners Suspend EMA & EMS Directors (03.23.26):
https://youtube.com/live/GAKNvIVHY_o . . .

Arrest of Meagan R. Coutinho (06.03.26):
https://youtube.com/live/oa9h375x6QM . . .

News Relating to John Coutinho (06.10.26):
https://youtube.com/live/peN24gRaVfc . . .

Commissioners Terminate John Coutinho (06.16.26):
https://youtube.com/live/631ScX-qidM . . .

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

VIDEO version of Ep 715: https://youtube.com/live/jx3z8xsN2mM

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday — Thursday at 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

#708 | Onward to August 2026 - This Way to Fall & Other Topics! | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey attempts to fight off the "tech gremlins" in this "SPECIAL" 708th "FRIDAY NIGHT" episode of the show!

Bilbrey uses this to explain what's going on with the show, since we've been off more than on lately. A SOLUTION IS IN THE WORKS!!!

And if things are running smoothly, he will try to get through a bit of prep for the upcoming Muncie City Council meeting and beyond!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

VIDEO version of Ep 708: https://youtube.com/live/n6juCuA4hhg

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday — Thursday at 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

#707 | July 29, 2026: We're Back, Ballin' Bigger Than Ever! Let's Roll! | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:00:00 -0400

We're back, ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the 707th episode of The Political Spotlight! Let's roll!

There is so much going on in the City of Muncie, Indiana... and Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey has so much to say!

Let's get into this!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

VIDEO version of Ep 707: https://youtube.com/live/3LUPPGiQrqw

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday — Thursday at 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

#680 | Some Tragedies Are So Terrible That No Answer Can Make Them Right! | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey is just a man... like any other, trying to live the best life he can. He, like many others, wants answers to the questions that arise! Sometimes those answers come easily; sometimes they come hard... and sometimes, they don't come at all!

The questions surrounding the tragic events that occurred in Selma, Indiana, on Thursday, August 14, 2025, will likely never be answered in a way that will make everyone happy...

But then again, how could any answer make this make sense!?

Bilbrey reads the Special Prosecutor's Report to the court in episode 681. If listeners are interested in more on this story, please click the following link to episode 681: https://youtube.com/live/peN24gRaVfc . . .

=========================

VIDEO version of Ep 680: https://youtube.com/live/bEIMsKaGmS0

============================

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

============================

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

============================

Facebook 1: https://www.facebook.com/Bilbrey318
Facebook 2: https://www.facebook.com/PoliticalSpotlight318
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight
Twitter: https://x.com/BilbreyLIVE
Email: tpsprogram@gmail.com

============================

🚨🚨🚨
'The Political Spotlight'
LIVE Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. (ET)
Hosted by: Kristopher H. Bilbrey & Brandon Rudd
Produced by: Kate Thornburg
https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight
https://rumble.com/c/ThePoliticalSpotlight
https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
https://www.facebook.com/Bilbrey318
https://www.facebook.com/PoliticalSpotlight318
https://www.tiktok.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight
https://x.com/BilbreyLIVE
Email: tpsprogram@gmail.com
© 2026 Mud Creek Studio.
—

#676 | Money Is the Root of All Politics! Politics Is a Synonym for Evil! | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey examines the Probable Cause Affidavit for the arrest of former Delaware County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) office manager Meagan Coutinho.

Coutinho was arrested earlier today, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, by the Indiana State Police on six felony charges. She was booked into the Delaware County Jail on a $30,000.00 bond and was able to bond out of jail almost immediately.

Her charges stem from two separate incidents. One involves allegations of theft from the Delaware County Government, and the other involves allegations of theft from a sports booster program at Delta High School.

Coutinho's charges are as follows:

Count 1: Theft
(Delta Golf Boosters)
IC 35-43-4-2 Level 6 Felony...

Count 2: Theft
(Delaware County Government)
IC 35-43-4-2 Level 5 Felony...

Count 3: Theft
(Delaware County EMS)
IC 35-43-4-2 Level 6 Felony...

Count 4: Theft
(Delaware County Government)
IC 35-43-4-2 Level 6 Felony...

Count 5: Official Misconduct
IC 35-44.1-1-1 Level 6 Felony...

Count 6: Conflict of Interest
IC 35-44.1-1-4 Level 5 Felony...

Coutinho is alleged to have taken more than $200,000 over the past four years, during which she was among the 20 highest-paid employees in Delaware County. Bilbrey demands to know how this was possible!

There is much to unpack about Coutinho's actions, but that is only half the story. Her husband, John, is the Director of the Emergency Management Agency of Delaware County. He has been on paid leave while this investigation runs its course. What did he know? How could he not have known? Again, HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE?

Bilbrey examines the broader implications of this situation.

While keeping the focus on fiscal questions, Bilbrey shifts to the City of Muncie. The Board of Works held its weekly meeting earlier today, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. The meeting raised a serious concern for careful observers.

Did Jeff Howe, the Director of the Muncie Redevelopment Commission and the recently appointed Deputy Mayor, who is also currently the "Acting" Mayor of the City of Muncie, receive a raise around the first of the year (2026) that no one knew about?

All this and more in an ACTION-PACKED episode!

This episode connects to episode 681. Click the following link to listen to that episode: https://youtube.com/live/peN24gRaVfc . . .

=========================

VIDEO version of Ep 676: https://youtube.com/live/oa9h375x6QM

============================

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

============================

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

============================

#646 | Tim Hollems (R) Candidate for Delaware Co Circuit Ct Judge! & More! | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Join Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey as he welcomes Tim Hollems, a Republican candidate for Delaware County Circuit Court 5 Judge, to the show.

Hollems has served as a master commissioner in the Delaware County, Indiana, court system for the past nine years. Before becoming a master commissioner, he served as an attorney for the Indiana Department of Child Services for more than 10 years. He has practiced law for nearly 30 years.

He is a 1997 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and graduated from the Indiana Judicial College in 2021.

Hollems and his wife have lived in Muncie since 2003, raising their two children in the community.

Bilbrey and Hollems discuss the campaign, Hollems' views on the current state of Delaware County's judicial system, and his plans for the Court if elected.

Connect with Hollems on social media via the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575686743214 . . .

After the interview, Bilbrey discusses the State Board of Accounts' report on the Special Investigation into the City of Muncie Parks Department in greater detail.

============================

VIDEO version of Ep 646: https://youtube.com/live/g5uZvApq8yk

============================

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

============================

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

============================

Special Guest: Timothy Hollems .

#645 | SBoA Investigation of the City of Muncie's Parks Department! | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey steps away from the candidate interviews for this 645th episode of the show to examine the State Board of Accounts' Report on its Special Investigation into the City of Muncie's Parks and Recreation Department.

Bilbrey has covered this investigation over the past few weeks while awaiting the report's public release. The Political Spotlight has been on this story every step of the way since April 13, 2020.

For those interested in reading the report on their own time, click the following link:

https://audit.sboa.in.gov/WebReports/26780I.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawRU8M9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFIZnh1YW9pRlN3WWFrU2dBc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHodUQ7CJ2u3AU2TwVDkGszHgPLk4zEvbnypgTjCKFNpK4jQPN0UGTgCw6JdJ_aem_YLMnUxTHBP1F0bNQ80davw . . .

============================

VIDEO version of Ep 645: https://youtube.com/live/b5kBpSssGRo

============================

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

============================

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

============================

#625 | Delaware Co Suspends EMA & EMS Directors! + Henry Co's BEE Issue! | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey covers the Special Meeting held by the Delaware County Commissioners today, Monday, March 23, 2026. During this brief meeting, the Commissioners suspended both the County EMA Director and the County EMS Director.

These suspensions follow the firing of a longtime County EMS Office Manager at the start of the month and amid an ongoing Indiana State Police theft investigation into allegations that county funds were stolen. How far could this go? Bilbrey questions it in this episode.

Next, Bilbrey covers the controversy involving one Henry County Commissioner’s fight against the BEES in Henry County! Because there's nothing more pressing they could be focusing on, right? RIGHT!

Let's get into it all!

============================

VIDEO version of Ep 625: https://youtube.com/live/GAKNvIVHY_o

============================

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

============================

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

============================

#618 | Delaware County Theft! / Prairie Creek Follow Up & More! | The Political Spotlight

Kristopher H. Bilbrey, Kate Thornburg, & Brandon Rudd (The Political Spotlight) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0400

Host Kristopher H. Bilbrey discusses the recent theft allegations against the office manager of Delaware County, Indiana, EMS.

This has led to her separation from the Delaware County Government and an investigation by the Indiana State Police.

Bilbrey tries to explain why this is a common occurrence.

He then updates the audience on the Prairie Creek Reservoir situation, monitors potential severe weather, and discusses news he heard about the Delaware County Republican Chairman, Tim Overton.

============================

VIDEO version of Ep 618: https://youtube.com/live/KHsZo1vua7A

============================

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/subTPS
Become a Member: https://bit.ly/MembershipTPS
Merch: https://bit.ly/Spotlight_Merch

============================

The Political Spotlight Airs LIVE
(Sunday - Thursday @ 9 p.m. ET)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePoliticalSpotlight

Audio Podcast: https://ThePoliticalSpotlight.fireside.fm
& All Other Podcast Hosting Sites

============================