Locals react to the possibility of a special prosecutor investigating SBPD shooting case

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- A special prosecutor could be appointed to investigate the officer-involved fatal shooting of 54-year-old Eric Logan.

Logan was shot Sunday by South Bend Police Officer Ryan O’neill when police say Logan approached him with a knife. The circumstances surrounding the shooting have sparked outrage in the community because the officer did not have his body cam on when shots were fired and many in the community think the move for an independent investigation is a good one.

“My opinion is any outside eyes is better than what’s going on now,” John Winston Jr. said.

Winston is a South Bend resident concerned about how the Logan case is going to play out without the body camera footage as evidence.

“He didn’t have his body cam on and his car didn’t have his cam on but from their explanation as to how the body cams and dash cams work, all the other ones that pulled up on the scene should have had theirs on so you know there should be some answers there,” Winston said.

Answers to those questions are something Winston thinks an independent investigation will help answer.

The death of Logan is something that he said brings him sadness. That’s why when Winston stopped by Logan’s memorial outside of Central High apartments Thursday to find it removed, he decided to take action and start a new one.

“Once somebody decided to take to take it down, I kind of felt the need to put it back up,” Winston said. “It’s just a lot of people that are saddened by this and the memorial is for them.”

Why was the memorial taken down in the first place? That’s a question that Winston still needs answered as well as what exactly happened the night Logan died and a special prosecutor can help with the latter.

“Nobody is even saying that the man was out here plotting to kill someone,” Winston said. “Whatever happened, happened, mistake or otherwise, whatever it is, just own up to it, be accountable for what it was.”

St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter has not made the final decision yet on whether a special prosecutor will be needed for this case but it has been officially announced by his office as a possibility.