Pete Buttigieg had privately talked with members of Black Lives Matter following the fatal police shooting this summer of a 54-year-old black father in South Bend, Indiana, where the Democratic presidential hopeful has served as mayor since 2012, CNBC is reporting.
But members of Black Lives Matter now say Buttigieg just brushed off their concerns about police violence.
“He seemed to have already taken a side,” said Melina Abdullah, who took part in a July call between Buttigieg and activists. “It did seem that he was prioritizing who he thought was important, and it didn’t seem to be black people,
The phone call and a meeting in South Bend in August was the first-ever discussions between Buttigieg and Black Lives Matter.
At the end of August, the local chapter of the group called for Buttigieg to step down as mayor, CNBC noted.
During the talks Black Lives Matter members had pushed for South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski to be fired.
“(Buttigieg) tried to argue that there was support for the chief, and that there were members of the public who wanted more police,” said Jorden Giger, an activist who was at the August meeting. “I said, that’s true, but when you think about these issues, who is the public that you’re thinking about? The white public or the black public?”
Buttigieg’s presidential campaign declined comment about the talks. But a city spokesperson said Buttigieg makes it a priority to give residents an opportunity to share their perspectives about how to rebuild trust with police.
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