WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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The South Bend Fraternal Order of Police issued a public letter yesterday, in harsh criticism of Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Buttigieg, who hopes to secure the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination, suspended campaigning last week, after a Black man was shot to death by a White officer in South Bend.
In their letter, the South Bend police union criticized, “Mayor Pete,” as he’s been referred to on the campaign trail. Their public letter, published on their Facebook page, accuses Buttigieg of politicizing the shooting to his advantage.
Buttigieg spoke at a town hall meeting on Sunday evening, addressing racial tensions in the northern Indiana city.
Earlier on Sunday, 11 people were shot at a bar in South Bend, one of whom was declared dead. Police have stated they do not have a suspect in custody.
The South Bend Fraternal Order of Police responded to Buttigieg in their statement, “Mayor Buttigieg has in no way unified the community. Mayor Buttigieg continues to only focus on one incident and one family. Buttigieg has yet to comment on the largest mass shooting in the recent history of South Bend.” The statement continues, “The accountability level of officers has increased exponentially in the last several years.”
The South Bend Police union letter states the union stands behind the officer who shot dead an African-American man, accused of breaking into cars. The statement says the union follows the legal principle of the presumption of innocence.
Debates between presidential candidates are expected to begin tomorrow. Due to the number of party candidates, the Democratic National Committee has determined to split the debates up into Wednesday night and Thursday night: Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee, Bill de Blasio, and Tim Ryan will debate tomorrow night.
Buttigieg will join Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper, Eric Swalwell, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang on Thursday’s debate.
