The discussion about a set of discipline guidelines for the South Bend Police Department continued at a community meeting Tuesday night.
The proposed discipline matrixlays out punishments for officer misconduct. It's meant to improve consistency in disciplines given to officers.
The Board of Public Safety delayed a decision last month to allow for more input from the community.
At a community meeting Tuesday night people most commonly expressed the opinion that the matrix, as it stands now, gives officers too many chances for repeat offenses and that some punishments weren’t serious enough.
Kalume Tshimanga is a member of Faith In Indiana. He said it’s crucial that the city gets the discipline matrix right if trust between civilians and police is going to improve.
“No one is above the law. Civilians are not above the law. Law enforcement is not above the law. We do need to make sure that we are holding our officers to a higher standard.”
Tshimanga said this matrix is the most fair way to hold officers accountablefor their actions.
Mayor James Mueller said the city will continue accepting public input and hopes to implement the matrix in the next few months.
Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16
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