Police misconduct seen in half of South Bend complaints

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Information released by South Bend police shows that police misconduct was found in more than half of citizen complaints filed between January and August.

The data released in response to a public records request filed by The South Bend Tribune shows civilians made 28 complaints against officers in the northern Indiana city this year through the end of August.

The South Bend Tribune reports that the police department found evidence supporting 15 of those complaints, or 53 percent of the total.

Experts cautioned against drawing conclusions from the limited data. But South Bend’s police union says the numbers offer evidence that the department is taking a vigorous approach to uncovering cases of bad behavior by officers.

South Bend has seen several cases of alleged excessive force or other misconduct.