South Bend police officer who fatally shot black man resigns
A white officer who shot and killed a black man suspected of breaking into cars has resigned from the South Bend Police Department, Chief Scott Ruszkowski told CNN on Monday.
Ryan O'Neill's resignation was effective immediately, Ruszkowski said.
"I am in receipt of his resignation letter. I will have no further comment at this time," Ruszkowski said.
Police said O'Neill shot Eric Jack Logan on June 16 while Logan was breaking into cars with a knife in his hand.
The shooting roiled the Indiana community, putting the spotlight on years of racial tension between the South Bend Police Department and the city's African-American residents.
Community members staged protests calling for O'Neill's resignation. During one of them, Logan's mother confronted South Bend mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
Shirley Newbill told Buttigieg that she's "been here all my life" and officials have not done a "thing about me or my son, or none of these people put here."
Buttigieg largely put his campaign on hold so he could address the situation.
He returned to South Bend the day of the shooting and held a news conference in which he promised the city would be transparent with the community. He also directed his police chief to order all officers to turn their body cameras on when interacting with civilians on duty.
By Dan Merica and Emanuella Grinberg, CNN via The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
The Gayly. 7/15/2019 @8:14 p.m. CST.