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State Sen. Jack Sandlin has died

Sandlin, pictured here, was a white man with a white moustache and short white hair, wearing a navy suit and a red tie.
Courtesy of the Indiana Senate Republicans
A retired police officer with more than 30 years on the force, Sandlin served six years on the Indianapolis City-County Council before being elected to two terms in the state Senate.

Indianapolis Republican Jack Sandlin, a member of the state Senate since 2016, has died.

The local Republican Party confirmed his death Wednesday. In a statement, party chair Joe Elsener mourned the loss, and said Sandlin’s “voice and impact” will be missed.

A retired police officer with more than 30 years on the force, Sandlin served six years on the Indianapolis City-County Council before being elected to two terms in the state Senate.

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) called Sandlin a “valued member” of the GOP caucus.

“We will feel his loss deeply,” Bray said.

A private Republican caucus will meet in the coming weeks to choose a replacement to serve out Sandlin’s term.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.