At his State of the City address Tuesday night, Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese briefly addressed the issue that has become a defining part of his last year in office: the city’s police department.
Mayor Neese was introduced by the new chief of police he appointed in January. Chris Snider was named chief after the previous head of the department resigned following a South Bend Tribune and ProPublica report on disciplinary issues and abuses within the EPD last November.
Since then the mayor and the chief have created a Community Support Division within the police force.
“A division that is aimed at facilitating more frequent and improved interaction with the community.”
Neese said these officers will be engaged with attending community meetings to receive input and walking foot patrols to be more available to the people.
An independent investigation of the EPD is ongoing.
“When the police department integrity was questioned in 2018, I knew that I had to act in order to reaffirm the credibility of the department and reenforce public trust.”
Neese said investigators will be in town next month to interview people and hold community meetings and surveys.
