Community responds to DOJ dismissing lawsuit against City of South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The city of South Bend is no longer being questioned for discrimination after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed their lawsuit with prejudice against the city on Feb. 26.

During the Biden administration, the DOJ filed four lawsuits in North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia and here in Indiana. The suits were against county, city or state police or fire departments for discriminatory hiring practices.

The lawsuit brought against the South Bend Police Department was in October 2024, with claims that their hiring practices violated Title VII and specifically discriminated against black and female job applicants.

The White House Office of Communications sent out a statement Thursday explaining Attorney General Pam Bondi, “dismissed several Biden-era lawsuits against police and fire departments who used race-neutral mechanisms — such as standard aptitude tests, physical exams, and credit checks — in their hiring processes, the result of which lowered standards and endangered public safety,”.

Locally, some community members, like president of South Bend’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Trina Robinson, still agree with the Biden Administration’s accusations.

“It was kind of enlightening to know that the Justice Department felt as we felt locally that there needs to be some change… We will continue to watch the police department, watch the practices, watch the policies and procedures, and we will act accordingly. So, it doesn’t by any means stop the growth or stop the momentum that we have, it just means that we will need to be, we will need to do a little more due diligence,” said Robinson.

In response to the dismissal, South Bend Mayor James Mueller and South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski released statements.

"I am glad the Department of Justice dismissed this baseless lawsuit, which was an inappropriate use of federal power," said Mueller. "I am proud of SBPD's efforts to hold our officers to high standards and build a city team that reflects the rich diversity of our community."

“From the beginning we believed facts and common sense would prevail,” said Ruszkowski. “This rightful and decisive adjudication has confirmed SBPD's hiring process as both lawful and fair.”

In response to those statements, Robinson said, “To say that a claim is baseless or that we are living in the perfect society or living in a perfect community where the police departments are just, we’re just holding hand and singing Kumbaya is a little premature. And so, I think what the Mayor needs to do is to accept and acknowledge that there is a segment of this community that does not share the same sentiments that he does, and they can’t be overlooked,”.