South Bend activists and administrators have demanded the resignation of Mayor Pete Buttigieg after what they say is an inadequate response to a police shooting of an African American man.
“Pete is a fraud,” former president of South Bend’s Board of Public Safety Pat Cottrell told the Washington Free Beacon on Monday.
Cottrell said the 37-year-old South Bend mayor has a poor record on racial issues and administrative control.
“To start with trying to heal, the mayor just needs to resign,” Mario Sims, a pastor and activist, said. Sims called Buttigieg “tone-deaf” on racial issues.
“I understand political ambition, I understand that,” Sims said. “But you’re playing games with the lives of the people here, and innocent police officers.”
He said Buttigieg should quit politics until he has spent “some time evaluating this.”
“Right now there’s no way he can stand on the stage and honestly talk about the issues pressing this country when he can’t even successfully address the dire issues of race, lack of diversity, and poverty, not to mention the homeless issue in this city,” Sims said.
“If you can’t even address those issues in a city of 100,000, my God, how can you address those issues in 50 states?” he added.
The South Bend mayor’s administration came under scrutiny after Sgt. Ryan O’Neill of the South Bend Police Department shot Eric Logan after reportedly approaching the officer with a knife. O’Neill did not have his body camera on, and Logan died shortly afterward in the hospital. Logan’s family filed a lawsuit against South Bend claiming excessive force against Logan.
Last Monday, the South Bend Fraternal Order of Police also condemned Buttigieg response to the shooting.
“Mayor Buttigieg’s focus on this incident is solely for his political gain and not the health of the city he serves,” the group said.
“Mayor Buttigieg’s comments have already and will continue to have a detrimental effect on local law enforcement officers and law enforcement officers nationwide. Mayor Buttigieg’s comments and actions are driving a wedge between law enforcement officers and the community they took an oath to serve,” the group added.
The former Common Council president Derek Dieter also said last week that Buttigieg should resign.
“Because of Pete’s selfishness, in my opinion, he is still the mayor,” Dieter said. “Everything that happens in South Bend shouldn’t be on your mind. You should be concentrating on running for president. So, I’m adamant that he should resign as mayor.”
Buttigieg has been forced to answer for the shooting on the campaign trail and in South Bend.
During the first Democratic presidential debate, California Rep. Eric Swalwell berated the South Bend mayor for his response to the shooting.
“But you’re the mayor, you should fire the chief. If that’s the policy and someone died,” Swalwell said.
Buttigieg just glared at Swalwell instead of responding.
“It’s as if one member of our family died at the hands of another,” Buttigieg said after taking time off his presidential campaign to return to South Bend to address the police shooting. “And even as an outside process works to determine what happened, we already know why such deep wounds are surfacing, why our whole community hurts. But I also want to tell you that my community is full of people who believe in safety and justice. We will heal and we will become stronger in broken places.”
Buttigieg was heckled in his return to South Bend by African American protesters furious at his response to the police shooting.
“You running for president and you expect black people to vote for you?” One woman shouted at Buttigieg.
“I’m not asking for your vote,” Buttigieg replied.
“You ain’t gonna get it either,” the protester said.
“Are you really here because you care about blacks, or are you just here because you want to be the president?” Another protester yelled at the mayor.
Buttigieg also held a town hall where protesters shouted “liar” and “we don’t trust you!”
The South Bend mayor said he will take “more steps to change what is happening in this community.”
Buttigieg announced Monday he had hauled in $24.8 million in the second quarter of fundraising for his 2020 presidential bid. He is currently polling fifth in a field of two dozen candidates at 6.5% according to RealClearPolitics.
