Someone told me the same thing about Pennsylvania law--if carrying a semi-auto, chamber must be empty. Exemptions for revolvers, because the hammer will actually fire the next round, not the one it's resting on. He was 100% wrong! When I've challenged him on that, he was not able to prove it, other than by saying "it's a fact--everyone knows it." I've asked firearms instructors in Pennsylvania, and they've all told me the same thing--that he is full of ----!
I imagine it's the same situation here--some wannabee know-it-all is trying to impress people with statements like that.
The Indiana state's webpage has changed--it used to answer a lot of these questions, but perhaps there have been some legislative changes recently. I remember specifically that in the FAQ's about firearms that the state issued carry permits--open or concealed was the option of the licensee, not determined by the state.
Don't go by what the police academy grad says. Print out the statutes and show him he's wrong.
A few years ago I was told by one of the local badgeheads here in NJ that it was illegal for me to take firearms into Pennsylvania, as I'd been doing going to a range there. He said that it was interstate gun running. I contacted someone at the AG's office of Pennsylvania--they said that there were no restrictions for me to visit a target range in PA, as long as my firearms were transported a certain way (unloaded in the trunk, etc.).
Bottom line, just because someone is a police officer or criminal justice major does not mean that they are the final authority on ANYTHING.