Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of the shooting death of Eric Logan by a white South Bend police officer. Some of Logan’s family and close friends held a memorial service Tuesday night and marched to demand justice one year after his death.
The crowd consisted of those who were close to Logan. They marched to the Central High Apartments which is where Logan was shot by a police officer last year.
The group feels there hasn’t been justice and wants South Bend officials to take more action.
Surrounded by Logan's family before starting a march, Aisha Martin of Justice for South Bend says promises of fixes from the city government have been far too slow.
"It is very frustrating that no change has really been implemented," she says. "I do believe that change may be on the way - it's very slow. But slow doesn't help the family who is going through times like this."
However, she added the increased attention to police practices from recent Black Lives Matter protests across the nation have added much-needed energy to their efforts.
"It probably would've fizzled out, like all things. But we're not going to let that happen. We're going to stand together and we're going to work hard and continue to have these marches, meetings, whatever we need to do. So that, one, Eric Logan's name doesn't die out and, two, to hold the city accountable for what has happened in this case and other cases."
Oliver Davis, former South Bend council member, points to cities like Louisville and Minneapolis with recent incidents of police violence that have resulted in calls for reforms. He says it only highlights how long it's taken for South Bend to update their police policies.
"Those other cities had a situation this year and took care of their situation this year," he says. "We had a situation last year and we are still at the studying stage."
South Bend officials say they’re still working on reforms to the Use of Force policy, developing a police discipline matrix, and a citizens review board.
The group ended the evening by releasing red, shiny balloons to honor the memory of Logan
Surrounded by Logan's family before starting a march, Aisha Martin of Justice for South Bend says promises of fixes from the city government have been far too slow.
