South Bend Common Council President Canneth Lee says he’s disappointed a judge has ruled in favor of officers in the racially charged police tapes case. But Lee stopped short of saying the council should appeal.
Lee did not reply to WVPE’s interview request Friday. But in a two-sentence statement Lee said he will schedule a closed door council meeting with attorneys within the next few days to discuss next steps.
But council member Oliver Davis says whether to appeal St. Joseph Superior Judge Jamie Wood’s ruling should be an easy call for the council.
“We have to, because if we don’t ask for an appeal, that means we accept the judge’s decision," Davis said. "I’m an advocate for transparency. From Day One this has been the main issue for me, is getting the information out.”
Davis disagrees with Woods’ finding that the officers had an expectation of privacy and didn’t know their phone calls were being recorded by the department, stemming from a prior officer with a certain number having asked for his line to be recorded.
Davis led the charge 14 years ago calling for the council to sue the Mayor Pete Buttigieg administration to release the tapes. The administration refused, despite the council’s subpoena power to review personnel moves. The council then hoped the tapes, which reportedly recorded officers saying racially insensitive things, would shed light on why Buttigieg had fired Darryl Boykins, the city’s first Black police chief.
Buttigieg’s successor, Mayor James Mueller, declined our interview request Friday. In a statement Mueller seemed to suggest the council should appeal, saying, “I support the Common Council’s call for transparency. South Bend deserves a full accounting of what happened, and this community is capable of handling difficult truths.”
