Even more disagreement between Mayor Buttigieg and the South Bend Common Council over releasing the now infamous tapes.
The controversy's been brewing for months. Mayor Buttigieg maintains he cannot release tapes of recordings within the City's Police Department because it violates Federal Law. But the Council's Lawyer says no it doesn't. The two parties and their legal counsel met today. But there's still no resolution. Both the Mayor and The Council's lawyer say they want a resolution quickly. That's why the Council may subpoena the tapes. But they are giving the Mayor just a little bit more time.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg walked into Council Chambers Wednesday ready to discuss disagreements, disagreements about whether to release the tapes that ultimately lead to the demotion of South Bend Police Chief Darryl Boykins. In a closed door session, the Council's Lawyer, Spencer Walton, said the two parties had a frank discussion. Citing case law, he believes the tapes were legally recorded in the first place and says therefore they can be released. "Police departments have an absolute right to record conversations coming in and out of the department, there's no right of privacy. If they are legally recorded then there's no violation of the wiretap act," said Walton.
But the Mayor doesn't see it that way. "My legal counsel is very concerned about the possibility that the federal wiretap law could be violated and perhaps violated repeatedly by distributing the tapes in an improper manner," said Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Walton said he's now asked Mayor Buttigieg and his team to try and change his mind. "We've asked the mayor's legal team to provide to me any case law, any legal opinions they might have that could possibly change our mind as to whether or not the tape recording conversations were recorded legally by the department." But Walton said he won't wait much longer than a week for that. If it doesn't happen then the Council will file a subpoena. Walton said that's the quickest way to get a resolution, "we feel the city is at such unrest about all this situations we need to clear it up as soon as absolutely possible.
After a subpoena Walton said the Mayor can respectfully decline. Then they can take the matter straight to Circuit Court and get a judges opinion. Walton even said they are hoping the courts can give them guidance on this issue.
And that's one thing both sides agree on, Mayor Buttigieg said, "We'll continue to try and let this play out through the legal process and make sure everyone does everything by the book."
The Mayor also added that he doesn't have the tapes right now. They are still with the Department of Justice. They were sent there so they could conduct an investigation into civil rights issues with the tapes. The Mayor says he has not heard back from the Department of Justice yet.
