(SOUTH BEND) – There has been criticism from the police union for South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Harvey Mills, president of the South Bend Fraternal Order of Police, says Buttigieg has been “falsely implying that South Bend police are racist” and that instead of apologizing he sent them pizza.
“Our officers are brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day for their community,” Mills said in a YouTube video. “We ask that instead of delivering pizza the mayor deliver some respect for what police officers do and drop the politics.”
Mills called the gesture “a lame attempt to apologize that didn’t go over very well.” The Mayor’s office says they’ve reached out to the union on several occasions and heard nothing back.
The community has been divided over the fatal shooting back in June, where a white South Bend officer, Sergeant Ryan O’Neill, shot and killed a black man. O’Neill resigned from the department this week.
“The evidence shows Sgt. O’Neill defended himself only after a convicted felon armed with an eight-inch hunting knife charged at him and ignored repeated commands to drop the knife,” Mills added.
Mills said the FOP supports accountability and the facts, but accused Buttigieg of refusing to wait for all the facts pertaining to the incident to come out before “condemning Sgt. Ryan O’Neill for defending himself.”
