Former Police Chief Darryl BoykinsYour thoughts took center stage Thursday night at a public forum on how South Bend should go about finding a new police chief. Several people stood up to say they want the new police chief to be hired from within, someone who already knows the city and the drama with "the tapes."
Peter Helland has lived in South Bend for decades. He came to the hearing Thursday night to voice his opinion because of how important the role of Police Chief is in the community. "it's a position that could help keep the force the morals high, the corruption low."
Even Mayor Buttigieg, who didn't comment much during the public hearing, addressed how important the Police Chief is to the city saying, "The Police chief after the mayor will be the most visible and the most critical public official going into the new year."
That's why a public forum was held, to get your opinion on the search for a new person to fill that important role. But some say the mayor shouldn't be searching in the first place. Adolpohine Bradley said, "they shouldn't search for one until they let the citizens of South Bend know what's on those tapes. Then either re-instate Chief Boykins or then look for a new chief."
The moderator called the tapes saga "the elephant in the room" during the hearing and it was definitely on peoples minds. Several who voiced concern over the new chief being hired from within cited the tapes as part of the reason, so the new chief is familiar with the city's drama. "There's a lot of men in here that can be accepted for the job and when you bring someone from the outside it takes a long time to learn the city," said Greg Brown.
But some said they don't care where the new chief comes from, they care more about qualifications. Anita Fishman said, "I don't care if we have the best candidate from within or from outside I want the best candidate."
Some council members at Thursday nights meeting said they'd like to see some proof that the candidate had a good relationship with the local government wherever they're coming from.
The deadline to apply for the Police Chief Position is October 19th. The Mayor hopes to have the new chief by the first of 2013.
