Elkhart Police Department

Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic attorney Elliot Slosar says the clinic will next focus on advocating for an independent counsel to investigate all post-conviction relief cases that disgraced Elkhart Police Detective Steven Rezutko worked.

Some reporters asked new Elkhart police chief Ray Juengst about his past, but we asked him if he's aware of the department's past with wrongful convictions of Black defendants that have triggered national media coverage and lawsuits.

New Elkhart Police Chief Ray Juengst is a 30-year-veteran of the St. Charles, Mo. police department, where he rose from patrol up through the ranks.

"By no part do I personally or does the Elkhart Police Department take any of putting an officer on unpaid leave lightly," Interim Police Chief Andy Whitmyer said.

“They were forced to make life-or-death decisions in an extremely dangerous situation,” said Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson.

Dan Milanese has been Elkhart Police Chief for three years. He steps down as the community awaits the Elkhart County Homicide Unit's investigation into whether officers Thomas Breneman and Nicholas Ragdale were justified in fatally shooting 17-year-old Bryan Ramirez Gomez Feb. 8 at High Dive Pavilion Park.

Last month’s fatal shooting of a teenager by Elkhart police was one of the issues highlighted during Saturday’s No Kings rally.

The Elkhart Police Department has released the names of the officers who fatally shot a teenager last month at High Dive Park. Patrolman Thomas Breneman and Patrolman Nicholas Ragsdale both discharged their service weapons during the incident, according to an Elkhart police press release.

Elkhart police say an officer was investigating a suspicious vehicle parked at the High Dive Park Pavilion, just after 1:30 Sunday morning. About 13 minutes after the first officer arrived, police say two officers discharged their firearms.

"You don’t have to have a perfect history," Police Chief Dan Milanese told the Elkhart Board of Public Safety last week. "That’s not what we look for, but there are some significant things that people have in their past that we’re unable to rectify, when it comes to that background process in hiring."