Mayor Pete's Invisible Black Police

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://www.theroot.com/mayor-pete-s-invisible-black-police-1840727624

So, why were black police officers leaving the South Bend Police Department en masse?

Racism.

That is not an opinion. It’s what black officers specifically, repeatedly, told the South Bend Common Council, the BOPS and Mayor Pete in memos, emails and complaints obtained by The Root and TYT. The claim is reflected in at least five discrimination lawsuits filed in federal courts. The accusations were leveled in our conversations with current and former SBPD officers. Included in the documents were letters signed by 10 black SBPD officers—a significant cohort of the force’s black members—in which they describe several problems within the department. The letters were sent in 2014 to the BOPS, the mayor’s office and the city’s legislature.

Two other black officers who had not signed the letter filed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints around the same time (both cases were subsequently dismissed)—meaning half of all black SBPD officers were raising their voices and risking retaliation to call attention to the problems.

Since that time, all but five of those dozen have left. And most of the ones who left didn’t leave law enforcement—they just left South Bend law enforcement.

A long, important read.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

1. K and R

[myohmy2]

5. +1

...very important information about Mayor Peter...

...

[dalton99a]

2. Kick

[crazytown]

3. TYT have been digging for dirt in South Bend for months.

They have found a bit, but it should not have been too difficult: 130 cops, 5 black, in a city that is 26% AA.

[dsc]

6. I am wondering the numbers on the capital police or in Boston just to name two random places.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

8. The issue is not necessarily "the numbers." It's the fact that they were ignored when they

documented racism within the institution of the police force.

[dsc]

7. Oh and just wait until they decide to go after Warren

given their opinion of gays and women, made clear over the years, Warren will be next you can count on it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. Morning kick.

[oasis]

9. The mayor should have handled this.

[bluewater]

10. This is telling.

[redqueen]

11. It's disturbing that this hasn't been reported by anyone other than a black reporter

in a black news outlet.

[dsc]

12. The reporter who wrote this literally called Pete a lying mother fucker

so I honestly don't trust him as a source. I will wait and see if this reporting holds up before I comment.

[redqueen]

13. It will be interesting to find out if anyone else cares.

Well the latest LA Times article about his problems with the black community in South Bend says absolutely nothing about it.

So there you go. Invisible, as usual.

[BeyondGeography]

15. The sad numbers on police force diversity are what they are

Another set of numbers has more recently drawn attention: the number of black police officers in South Bend has dropped nearly in half since Buttigieg took office, to 15 (out of a total force of about 230 officers).

The mayor has admitted that recruiting a diverse police force was one area where he fell short. “I couldn’t get it done,” he said during a Democratic primary debate in June.

https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/pete-buttigieg-took-big-swings-and-declared-south-bend-is/article_2286b06e-20f4-11ea-8019-a74f23b4942f.html

[bluewater]

17. Please quote where the reporter literally used the words "mother fucker"

Those words are not in the article.

The article is detailed, well thought out and makes compelling points, and ad hominem attacks on the reporter can't distract from that.

[dsc]

18. He literally wrote an article entitled Pete Buttigieg is a lying MF

and he spells it out in the piece.

https://www.theroot.com/pete-buttigieg-is-a-lying-mf-1840038708

[bluewater]

19. Oh, you were referring to another unlinked article, not the one in the OP.

I see.

There was no way for us to know that, so thanks for your clarification.

But this does sound a little like WHATBAOUTISM, instead of criticizing the contents of the OP article, you bring up a "what about" point of the reporter calling Pete a lying MF in a different article.

Honestly, in the OP article, the reporter makes a compelling point about the veracity of several points coming out of the Buttigieg staff and campaign about this South Bend Police issue.

In any case, I agree with the point that vulgar name calling does not add to anyone's argument.

[dsc]

20. only if you believe the reporter is telling the truth which is my point

and while I apparently should have linked the article it literally became a huge news story so I figured everyone knew about it.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. The information has been out for a while.

But yeah, no one has picked up on it. The local activists have been trying to get the tapes released for a couple years.

How long do you think it would it take the gop to get the tapes if they wanted them?

[bluewater]

16. Not very long at all?

In fact, the GOP probably has those tapes already.

[AngelicaHora]

21. Too much speculating and editorializing in this piece

Not to mention it's by TYT who have endorsed Sanders. I'll take it with a grain of salt. I doubt anyone would look flawless on these issues after being mayor of a city like South Bend. The fact that he has this experience at all (over senators for whom the problems of everyday Americans, especially Black Americans, are mostly theoretical) is a great boon.

[redqueen]

22. It's from The Root. nt