Some community members are calling for more action from the city of South Bend, after a 14-year-old girl was apparently taken to the ground by a police officer outside a McDonald’s last week.
A few dozen protesters Thursday marched from the McDonald’s to the County-City Building, where the South Bend Community Police Review Board met. Many who spoke felt the officer’s actions were unnecessary, since the girl was already leaving the restaurant when he made contact with her.
Tiana Batiste Waddell said those in power need to be held accountable. “And I expect a termination,” she told WVPE. “I support Black Lives Matter. They want a paid leave. Tiana wants a termination because that could’ve been my son.”
At the meeting, Wayne Hubbard questioned whether physical contact was really necessary, when the girl was already leaving the restaurant. “A police officer chose to put his hands on a 14-year-old, after the reason he was out there was gone,” Hubbard told board members.
Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski defended the officer’s handling of the situation during a press conference Wednesday. Police have said that the girl had been accused of trespassing at the restaurant and hit the officer. But some of the speakers Thursday called the police chief’s version of events misleading.
Fred Teague said the girl involved is his niece. “There’s a million ways that could’ve been handled,” Teague said. “That should’ve been deescalated.”
Others argued that race was a factor and shared their own experiences with the city’s police officers.
Going forward, Blu Casey would like to see an independent investigation, mandatory de-escalation training and an end to what he called unaffordable body camera fees. “We are not here to tear down our police officers,” Casey told board members. “We understand that that job has to be done or whatever, but protecting our children and listening to their cries and ensuring their future – it’s not something that we can just push under the rug.”
The community police review board has no disciplinary power, but it can make recommendations to the common council, mayor and board of public safety. The board hadn’t been formally asked to investigate the incident yet, but members promised to take Thursday’s comments under advisement. Meanwhile, the police department’s Internal Affairs continues to review the incident.
