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Long-awaited South Bend police tape trail delayed until June

Long-awaited South Bend police tape trail delayed until June

MISHAWAKA, Ind. — Another delay in the controversial South Bend police tape trial.

The long-awaited case is now delayed until next summer.

In May, a St. Joseph County Superior Court judge set the date for Nov. 20, but after a pretrial hearing Friday morning, the trial will now begin June 18.

The case summary is more than 50 pages long and spans more than a decade, and a new update was made Friday.

The tapes at the center of the case are said to contain possibly racist, unethical and even illegal comments between former department leaders.

The central question in the case is whether they were obtained legally.

The South Bend Common Council has until the original trial date next month to file any motions.

The intervening plaintiff will have until January 17 to respond.

Before the two-day trial can begin in June, a motions hearing and a final pretrial conference will be held.

ABC57 first reported on Common Council member Oliver Davis’ call for the tapes to be subpoenaed in 2012.

“And I think it’s important for us to finally have that closure so that we can clearly, as an entire city, continue to move forward. We have better police relations. We have more things on levels and levels. We are still O’Brien and we are still in the groin. in other areas and I think this can help us in the areas we need to grow,” Davis said.

Mayor Mueller added in a statement:

“I support the Common Council’s call for transparency and believe that confronting truths together, however difficult, is the path to healing for our community. I hope the Court resolves this matter once and for all after more than one decade and millions of dollars in litigation expenses. As we wait for the Court’s decision, we must continue to build trust and make our city a fairer and safer place for everyone.”

The SBPD declined to comment.

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