Indiana Congresswoman wants to rename Elwood post office after fallen police officer

Indiana Fifth District Congresswoman Victoria Spartz is seeking to rename a Madison County post office in honor of a police officer killed in the line of duty.  As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, that takes a Congressional bill.

The proposal designates the post office at 119 North Anderson Street in Elwood as the ‘‘Officer Noah Jacob Shahnavaz Post Office Building.”

Shahnavaz, 24, was killed during a 2022 traffic stop.  A US Army veteran, he had only been with the Elwood Police Department for 11 months.

Congresswomen Victoria Spartz believes future generations will be defined by how we pay respect to those who sacrificed the most for us.

“We have elections. We have drama. We have to deliberate on an issue and debate,” she said. “But then we have to come together and govern for the country and do the right thing in the memory of people like Noah.”

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The bill was introduced late last month and has been referred to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.  Spartz says the committee has a limited number of hearings left this year and hopes the bill can be passed through quickly.

Last year, Spartz spoke about Shahnavaz on the House floor, with her speech included in the Congressional record.  In the state legislature, Indiana named a mile of State Road 13 running through Madison County for Shahnavaz.

Carl Boards II has been charged with murdering Shahnavaz during a traffic stop on July 31, 2022.  His trial has been delayed until September 2025.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu