The South Bend, Indiana police union is accusing the city’s mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg of making decisions on an officer-involved fatal shooting “solely for his political gain.”
The charge from the South Bend Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #36 comes as Buttigieg – who’s soared from a long-shot to a top-tier contender for the Democratic nomination – is facing the first serious test of his presidential campaign.
The union spoke out on Monday night after Buttigieg supported a call for a special prosecutor to investigate the fatal shooting June 16 of a black man by a white police officer. Their move also comes after Buttigieg said he would contact the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to request an independent investigation.
In a blistering statement on Monday night, the union claimed that “Mayor Buttigieg’s focus on this incident is solely for his political gain and not the health of the city he serves.”