Activists continue dialogue over public safety reforms in South Bend

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --South Bend activists discussed the idea of defunding the police and redirecting those dollars to violence prevention programs.

At Wednesday’s forum, panelists described modern police units as militarized police, calling for people to consider alternative forms of law enforcement.

A lot of the discussion was more conceptual, imaging ways to address violence preventions, drugs, and mental health services without an armed officer.

Organizers said the panel is a continuation of the community response to the deadly police shooting of Dante Kittrell in July.

"We want to, one, 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," said Peter Loutzenhiser, the co-chair of the Northern Indiana chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

"We hadn't seen, kind of, enough consistent community organization around this. And it's a thing where this affects everyone," Loutzenhiser continued. "We can't just view this as one segment of society's problem that they'll either resolve it or they won't. It's an issue that affects all of us."

Panelists, including Common Council Member Henry Davis Jr., also stressed the importance of kickstarting South Bend's citizen's police review board, which still hasn't gotten off the ground since it's director, Joshua Reynolds, resigned more than a year ago.

"The citizens obviously wanted it, we got it passed," Davis said. "And then the leadership, meaning the mayor's office as well as council leadership have denied us the opportunity to have that enhancement for our quality of life."

"These kinds of conversations always move us towards another policy change, another way of envisioning South Bend and the culture that we live in," he continued. "For, even me, as an elected official, to understand what the community is actually asking for, and being able to provide that solution."

The south bend police shooting of Dante Kittrell was ruled justified.