2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg received a harsh reception in his hometown of South Bend, Ind., on Friday when speaking out about the fatal police shooting of a black man.
Buttigieg, who is mayor of the town, skipped some events this weekend in the key early primary state of South Carolina to participate in a march amid an investigation into the shooting of 54-year-old Eric Logan, a black man, by a white police offer early Sunday morning while responding to a call about a man breaking into cars.
Buttigieg was confronted by a crowd of protesters, many who were holding signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and other messages. Buttigieg said “of course black lives matter.”
As he continued to address the crowd, Buttigieg said, “I do not have evidence that there has been discipline for racist behavior … ” before being drowned out by shouts.
One woman carrying a sign that read, “Who do you call when police murder?” repeatedly exclaimed, “You running for president and you expect black people to vote for you?”
Buttigieg replied, “I’m not asking for your vote.”
The protester said, “You ain’t gonna get it either.”
The protesters also interrupted South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski, which led to one of Logan’s brothers to step in and defend Ruszkowski. “This man, 100%, I’ve been riding with this man since day one. I’m going to believe in this man, because he’s always got my back no matter what,” he said.
Buttigieg was asked if he would sign a petition calling for a Justice Department investigation into the shooting of Eric Logan. According to CNN, he said it contained language that could be deemed prejudicial, but said “Yes” when asked if he would sign a clean version.
South Bend Police Sgt. Ryan O’Neill says he shot at Logan because he had approached with a knife. The city’s police have body and dashboard cameras, but the shooting was not recorded, a fact that Buttigieg on Wednesday said frustrated him.
After the Sunday incident, Buttigieg took some time off from campaigning to return to South Bend to manage the fallout from the shooting, canceling fundraisers in California that were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. That came ahead of this weekend’s South Carolina Democratic events, when many candidates will essentially introduce themselves to voters in a state where the bulk of the primary electorate is African American. The episode has a potential to be the topic of pointed questions to Buttigieg in candidate forums this weekend and beyond.
The police shooting underscored Buttigieg’s challenge in appealing to black voters. Last week, a Democratic primary poll in South Carolina found Buttigieg with 6% support among black voters, up from 0% in May. Former Vice President Joe Biden received 52% support among black voters in the poll.
After the march, Buttigieg, who will be participating a town hall in South Bend on Sunday, said he will take “more steps to change what is happening in this community.”
Emily Larsen contributed to this report.
