South Bend activists call for change in policing at community forum

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- South Bend activists met this week to discuss the idea of defunding the police, and possible policing alternatives.

Activists have suggested possibly redirecting dollars from the police department into violence prevention programs instead.

Panelists at the forum focused on imagining ways to address violence prevention, drugs, and mental health services without armed officers being needed.

One panelist, South Bend Common Council Member, Henry Davis Jr., also brought up the importance of getting South Bend’s Citizen’s Police Review Board started.

The review board was approved by the South Bend Common Council back in October of 2020, after more than 6 months of public debate and input.

The board was passed by an 8-1 margin and was drafted as a way to build more trust between the police department and the community.

It would allow community board members to review police misconduct, conduct their own investigations and then make recommendations for discipline.

The main reason for the set back to the board was the resignation of its director, Joshua Reynolds. A former officer and investigator from Indianapolis, he was announced as the director for the review board in May of 2021.

His career in South Bend was short lived though, as he resigned just 3 months later in August after multiple past suspensions were brought to light.

Another panelist referred to modern police units as militarized police.

The discussion comes as a continued response to the deadly police shooting of Dante Kittrell back in July.

Peter Loutzenhiser, Co-chair of the Northern Indiana Democratic Socialists of America, shared that the goal of the community forum is to "continue this conversation, keep up the momentum that we saw after the shooting of Dante Kittrell. And we want to build these broader coalitions between different groups in the community."