ACLU Statement on Elkhart Police Department Misconduct

INDIANAPOLIS – Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese, has suspended Police Chief Ed Windbigler for 30 days after reporting by the South Bend Tribune and ProPublica revealed high rates of police brutality within the Elkhart Police Department. The Board of Public Safety is planning to approve a five-member board to review uses of excessive force. It was proposed that all five members of the new board should be police officers.

ACLU of Indiana Executive Director, Jane Henegar issued this statement:

“The use of excessive force and shootings in Elkhart must be properly and impartially investigated, not just to hold individual officers accountable but to change the policies and practices that keep leading to police abuses of power. Appointing an oversight board that consists solely of law enforcement officials, will not cut it. Calling for the Department of Justice, which has been handcuffed by the Trump administration, will not cut it. It is clear from the investigative reporting done by ProPublica and the Tribune, that the police cannot police themselves. Mayor Neese and the Board of Public Safety must work with community stakeholders and bring in a proven, independent third-party expert to examine these endemic and historic acts of brutality within the Elkhart Police Department.”

This full statement is at: https://www.aclu-in.org/en/press-releases/aclu-statement-elkhart-police-department-misconduct

More on the ProPublica Report here:

https://www.propublica.org/article/nearly-all-officers-in-charge-of-elkhart-indiana-police-department-have-been-disciplined?utm_content=bufferc72a8&utm_
https://www.propublica.org/article/elkhart-indiana-police-chief-ed-windbigler-suspended-following-release-of-beating-video/amp