Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Buttigieg Criticized at Emotional Town Hall After Shooting
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
June 24, 2019

Share

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg faced criticism Sunday from angry residents of South Bend, Indiana, at an emotional town hall meeting a week after a white police officer fatally shot a black man in the city where he is mayor.

“The effort to recruit more minority officers to the police department and the effort to introduce body cameras have not succeeded and I accept responsibility for that.” — Pete Buttigieg
Buttigieg said he would call for an outside investigation of the shooting of 54-year-old Eric Logan by Sgt. Ryan O’Neill.
The 37-year-old mayor said he would send a letter to the federal Department of Justice’s civil rights division and notify the local prosecutor that he’d like an independent investigator appointed. He conceded that his administration had failed on two key initiatives.
“The effort to recruit more minority officers to the police department and the effort to introduce body cameras have not succeeded and I accept responsibility for that,” Buttigieg said.
Prosecutors investigating said that the shooting was not recorded by O’Neill’s body camera.

Buttigieg Left Campaign Trail to Deal With Reaction

The town hall grew contentious when some community members questioned whether the mayor had done enough to reform the police department in the city of 100,000 people, which is about a quarter black.
“Get the people that are racist off the streets,” one woman in the audience said. “Reorganize your department. You can do that by Friday.”
Buttigieg left the campaign trail for several days to deal with the reaction to the shooting, holding a late night news conference, meeting with the family of the man killed and addressing a protest rally where he was heckled by some in the crowd.
The June 16 shooting happened after O’Neill responded to a call about a suspicious person going through vehicles, a prosecutor investigating the case said. O’Neill spotted Logan leaning inside a car. When confronted, Logan approached O’Neill with a 6- to 8-inch knife raised over his head, the prosecutor said. O’Neill fired twice, with the other shot hitting a car door.
Violence flared again in South Bend early Sunday when a shooting at a pub left a Michigan man dead. Police identified the man as Brandon Williams, 27, of Niles, Michigan. Another 10 people suffered gunshot injuries in South Bend Sunday, the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit said. Five of the wounded remained in hospital in stable condition later Sunday.
County Sheriff William Redmond said his officers assisted South Bend police in controlling a crowd of more than 100 “upset and angry citizens” who came from the pub to the hospital where the wounded were taken. It was not immediately clear what prompted the shooting.
Asked after the town hall meeting about the latest shootings, Buttigieg described them as a “reversal” after progress in curbing violence in South Bend earlier this year and in 2018.
 

DON'T MISS

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

DON'T MISS

Wittrup: Vote to Table Bullard Fence Contract Was ‘Retaliatory’

DON'T MISS

Did Arias ‘Weaponize’ City Attorney’s Office by Requesting Documents from Smittcamp?

DON'T MISS

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

DON'T MISS

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

DON'T MISS

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

DON'T MISS

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

DON'T MISS

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Comedy Night: ‘President Trump’ Meets ‘Superintendent Biden’

DON'T MISS

Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death

UP NEXT

Did Arias ‘Weaponize’ City Attorney’s Office by Requesting Documents from Smittcamp?

UP NEXT

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

UP NEXT

Hamas Official: We’ll Put Down Arms if an Independent Palestine Is Created

UP NEXT

Ex-State Department Official: Israeli Military Gets Preferential Treatment on Abuses

UP NEXT

Ukraine Uses Long-Range Missiles Secretly Provided by US to Hit Russian-Held Areas, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Fong Won’t Debate Boudreaux, but We Get Hot Topic Answers Anyway

UP NEXT

Ancestry Website to Catalogue Names of Japanese Americans Incarcerated During World War II

UP NEXT

Google Fires More Workers Who Protested Its Deal With Israel

UP NEXT

What Do Supreme Court Justices Say About Homelessness?

UP NEXT

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson Pledged $10M for Maui Wildfire Survivors. They Gave Much More.

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

11 hours ago

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

12 hours ago

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

12 hours ago

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

13 hours ago

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

Local Education /

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified Comedy Night: ‘President Trump’ Meets ‘Superintendent Biden’

14 hours ago

Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death

14 hours ago

Jose Ramirez Bout, Clovis Rodeo Are Center Stage in a Weekend Crammed With Events

15 hours ago

Supreme Court Seems Skeptical of Trump’s Claim of Absolute Immunity But Decision’s Timing Is Unclear

15 hours ago

Hamas Official: We’ll Put Down Arms if an Independent Palestine Is Created

16 hours ago

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s GOP-controlled Statehouse on Thursday gave their final approval to legislation criminalizing adults who...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

Local Education /
10 hours ago

Wittrup: Vote to Table Bullard Fence Contract Was ‘Retaliatory’

11 hours ago

Did Arias ‘Weaponize’ City Attorney’s Office by Requesting Documents from Smittcamp?

11 hours ago

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

12 hours ago

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

12 hours ago

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

13 hours ago

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

Local Education /
13 hours ago

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend