SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Mayor Pete Buttigieg stood before newly sworn police officers to welcome them to the city’s ranks, just as he has more than a dozen times since taking office. But this time he was a Democratic candidate for president, speaking days after a white officer fatally shot a black man the officer said was armed with a knife.
The timing made for a more sober, less congratulatory occasion, Buttigieg acknowledged Wednesday. Then he delivered a speech intended for an audience far beyond South Bend, touching on a long history of racial injustice, “justified anger” among residents and “a seemingly constant series of stories and videos from around the country showing abuses that tarnish the badge.”
“You may think to yourself — how is this my fault? How is this my responsibility?” Buttigieg asked the six officers who sat looking up at him from the front row. “It may not seem fair as you prepare for your first day on the job, but you are burdened with this. We all are.”
Sunday’s shooting of 54-year-old Eric Logan has posed perhaps Buttigieg’s biggest challenge of the presidential election cycle so far, forcing him to navigate the dual roles of mayor and candidate at a critical time for both his campaign and the city of roughly 100,000 people. It also highlights Buttigieg’s struggle to appeal to black voters and threatens to undo some of the progress he has made with the minority community in his hometown.