The South Bend, Indiana police union issued a scathing letter on Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s handling of a police-involved shooting, accusing the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate of playing politics with the tragedy.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #36 posted a letter to its Facebook page on Monday. The letter says Buttigieg has doted on the victims of one shooting while ignoring several others in his community, ostracizing the other victims. Buttigieg has further divided, not united, South Bend.
“Mayor Buttigieg’s focus on this incident is solely for his political gain and not the health of the city he serves,” the letter says.
“Mayor Buttigieg’s comments have already and will continue to have a detrimental effect on local law enforcement officers and law enforcement officers nationwide,” the letter continues. “Mayor Buttigieg’s comments and actions are driving a wedge between law enforcement officers and the community they took an oath to serve.”
Buttigieg paused his presidential campaigning to return to his city last week in the aftermath of a police shooting between a white officer and a black man. The June 16 incident has inflamed relations between the police and the black community, many of whom are calling for Buttigieg to fire the officer.
The police union is standing by Sgt. Ryan O’Neill, the officer who shot and killed 54-year-old Eric Logan, while investigators determine whether the officer’s actions were justified.
St. Joseph County officials have requested a special prosecutor to investigate the shooting, citing “inappropriate racial remarks” O’Neill made as a patrol officer 11 years ago.
O’Neill responded to a call that someone was going through cars. O’Neill arrived on the seen, saw Logan leaning inside a car and approached him. When confronted, Logan raised a knife as if to strike O’Neill, and the officer shot Logan twice, according to O’Neill’s account.
