Known locally as the “police tapes” scandal, Boykins’ firing followed the discovery that department had recorded the telephone calls of several South Bend police officers.

According to the local U.S. attorney’s office, the South Bend Police Department “had a practice over many years of recording certain police phone lines and radio communications, but not all phone lines.” In a letter provided to Boykins’ attorney, the U.S. attorney’s office explained that their investigation into the department’s practice revealed that “the Police Chief would inform the Director of Communications on which lines should be recorded and historically all 911 calls and all police radio traffic were recorded.”

Additionally, “lines usually recorded were police front desk lines, the Chief’s office lines, a line for internal affairs, the main detective bureau line, and most of the division chiefs’ lines.” In approximately 2010, “during a change in leadership at the detective bureau, the Chief of the Detective Bureau’s line was mistakenly not recorded and the line assigned to one of the detectives in the bureau was mistakenly recorded instead,” the letter read. “Once this was learned, the recording on that line continued.”

After police communications director Karen DePaepe heard on the tapes what she described in court filings as “discriminatory racial comments of high ranking officers” in the department, and “something I believe to be possibly illegal,” she told police chief Boykins about the conversations and handed him numerous cassette tapes that had captured the telephone calls.

…The local U.S. attorney’s office then “asked the FBI to commence an investigation because the interception of telephone conversation could violate the Wiretap Act,” the letter to Boykins’ attorney explained.

…“Schmuhl met with Boykin on Buttigieg’s instruction, and threatened Boykins with both a federal criminal prosecution and employment termination if Boykins did not ‘voluntarily’ resign his post as Chief of Police.”

…Boykins resigned, but shortly after attempted to rescind his resignation. Yet Buttigieg refused to allow Boykins to rescind his resignation, instead returning him to the department in a demoted position.

Many in the black community condemned the newly elected mayor for firing the police chief and demanded Buttigieg release the tapes. Buttigieg refused, prompting the city council to file suit to access the recordings. That case is still pending, and the public still does not know the content of the recordings—just the claims that they contain racist conversations.

Is Buttigieg Telling The Truth About Why He Fired A Black Police Chief?

hmmmm