Resolution to address police shooting of Dante Kittrell gets tabled indefinitely

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—A resolution aiming to address the recent police shooting of Dante Kittrell was ultimately tabled indefinitely in South Bend Common Council committee meetings Monday evening.

“The whole idea was to get something out there as a plan,” said Henry Davis Jr., Second District Councilman. “A plan can always be changed.”

Davis, along with At-Large Councilwoman Lori Hamann, attempted to take immediate action with bill 22-36, which called for the immediate creation and implementation of a mobile crisis response team through the South Bend fire department.

Fellow council members cited procedural technicalities that made reviewing the proposed bill very confusing ahead of Monday’s meeting. Some still disagreed with the bill’s proposals regardless, saying the issue at hand is too important to rush any action.

“Sit down, work it out, and get a good bill in front of us, instead of rushing it and causing all of this circus,” said First District Councilman Canneth Lee.

Ultimately, members from the public safety committee meeting voted to indefinitely postpone the resolution. This meant Monday night’s full council meeting did not include any discussion of the bill whatsoever.

Davis said he was disappointed but not surprised, and had scathing remarks for his fellow councilmembers.

“This council appears to have no political will or desire to create the transformative and cultural changes that this city really needs,” he said.

For Brianna Johnson, who not only witnessed, but filmed the standoff and shooting of Kittrell, said she just wanted to see something done after the tragedy.

“If you are constantly working on your business plan, you’re never going to get your business started,” she said.

Fourth District Councilman Troy Warner said the resolution to did seem to have any concrete action steps.

“Let’s be fully transparent about bill 22-36. It provides no funding, it does create any reams, it doesn’t hire anybody, it doesn’t create any positions,” he said. “There’s no details, there’s not even a semblance of a plan.”

In a press conference earlier in the day, South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski said there is already a plan in place to create a mental health response team and center in collaboration with Beacon Hospital, Oaklawn and other agencies.

He said the process is going slower than he would like, but it is still underway.