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Black Lives Matter Occupies Sidewalk Of South Bend Government Building For 24 Hours

South Bend Black Lives Matter activists rally at the conclusion of a 24-hour occupation of the sidewalk in front of the County-City Building.
South Bend Black Lives Matter activists rally at the conclusion of a 24-hour occupation of the sidewalk in front of the County-City Building.

Black Lives Matter activists occupied the sidewalk in front of the South Bend County-City building for 24 hours over the weekend. They continue to demand the firing of the police chief more than a month after the fatal police shooting of Eric Logan.

Starting at noon on Saturday, activists held workshops about citizens’ rights in police interactions and wrote slogans with sidewalk chalk. As the evening drew on, they also read from the Bible together. 

Mmoja Ajabu came with others from Indianapolis representing Economic Freedom Fighters of Indiana. He says Mayor Pete Buttigieg should fire or at least demote Chief Scott Ruszkowski because  the officer who shot Eric Logan didn’t turn on his body camera. 

“So the buck should stop at the mayor’s office," Ajabu says. "Mayor: If you’re not going to hold the police chief accountable, then you need to resign.”

According to activist Jordan Geiger, they’ll continue to demonstrate until the Eric Logan case is resolved or their list of demands is met. 

Justin Hicks covers statewide workforce development and employment issues. Before moving to Indiana, Justin was a freelance journalist and audio producer in New York City covering a variety of topics from crime to classical music. Justin is a graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and Appalachian State University.