Trump DOJ drops discrimination suit vs South Bend police; Black leaders vow continued work

Feb. 28, 2025

SOUTH BEND — A discrimination lawsuit launched by the United States Department of Justice under President Joe Biden regarding the hiring practices of the South Bend Police Department has been dismissed by President Donald Trump's DOJ.

Following through on his campaign pledge, Trump called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives discriminatory and ordered the ban of all such programs on Jan. 20, his first day in office.

The announcement has emboldened local Black advocacy groups to continue their work for justice, they say. 

The DOJ said in a Feb. 26 press release that it had dismissed lawsuits across the country involving the hiring of police officers and firefighters. DOJ claimed in the release there was no evidence of intentional discrimination, only statistical disparities. The lawsuit stems from a pattern and practice investigation started in 2021 by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division into the police department’s hiring practices. 

“These lawsuits, launched by the previous administration, unjustly targeted fire and police departments for using standard aptitude tests to screen firefighter and police officer candidates,” the DOJ said in the press release. 

Based on the police department’s hiring data, the previous DOJ had said, the physical and written tests violate Title VII’s bar on discrimination in employment.

In the complaint, the Biden DOJ specifically addressed the police department’s physical fitness tests — which it said disproportionately excludes female applicants — and written tests, which it said disproportionately excludes African-American applicants. According to the complaint, since 2019, 47.4% of female applicants passed the physical test compared to 83.8% of men. Since 2016, 62.8% of African American applicants passed the written test compared to 84.1% of white applicants, the DOJ said. 

As of December 2024, 9.7% of the 251 sworn South Bend officers are female and 10.5% are African American. According to the United States Census Bureau, 24.4% of South Bend residents are African American.

In a Feb. 28 statement, South Bend Mayor James Mueller voiced his approval of dismissal of the "baseless" lawsuit, calling it an "an inappropriate use of federal power."

"I am proud of SBPD's efforts to hold our officers to high standards and build a City team that reflects the rich diversity of our community," Mueller said.

“From the beginning we believed facts and common sense would prevail,” Chief of Police Scott Ruszkowski said on the matter. “This rightful and decisive adjudication has confirmed SBPD's hiring process as both lawful and fair.” 

Local Civil Rights leaders respond

Black Lives Matter South Bend doesn’t find the dismissal of the lawsuit surprising.

“It is, unfortunately as it’s always been, justice just won’t come,” Black Lives Matter South Bend co-founder Kat Redding told The Tribune. “It’s more than disheartening, honestly, when you’re trying your best to do the right thing.” 

Black residents in South Bend continue to be disenfranchised by way of securing public works contracts, housing, employment, she said. 

“We’ve seen that there’s been a systemic disenfranchise(ment) in the black community, so the best that we can do is continue to educate,” Redding said by text. 

"It is the elitist(s) that are in charge of our democracy,” Redding continued. “It's always the marginalized who must suffer at the hands of the rich. When the black community strives, we're pushed to the back, even further. They're constantly moving the goal post. They have always set up the chessboard of equality. There is no justice, there is no equality. We will continue our efforts to educate our community on the data. The numbers don't lie, elitists do!"

This lawsuit dismissal won’t stop the NAACP’s work locally, NAACP President Trina Robinson told The Tribune on Feb. 28. 

“It’s something we would continue to monitor and to ensure,” Robinson said. “We’re just hoping that with good faith that the Chief — if Ruszkowski remains the chief — or the incoming chief would do what is best as it relates to our community. … We do what we can to make sure that our officers are indicative of the community that they’re serving,” she said. 

The lawsuit was filed on Oct. 11 under President Biden’s Administration. Under President Trump’s second term, Robinson said, she’s not discouraged or shocked by anything that happens. 

This lawsuit dismissal is a setback, she said. However, the NAACP is 116 years strong and these setbacks are things members prepare for, Robinson said. 

“We’ve had setbacks in the past and we’ve overcome them,” she said. “So, those are just challenges where we have to find new footing and ways to maneuver around, but by no means does it distract us from what our mission is.” 

The ACLU of Indiana declined to comment on the lawsuit. 

In terms of percentages with the new officers coming in, Mayor James Mueller said at the Quarter 3 Public Safety Update on Oct. 10 — one day before the DOJ filed — that South Bend is doing “well above the national average,” as they “continue to make progress to meet and exceed the national averages in terms of under-represented groups.”

These percentages shift each time someone retires or resigns from the department, he said. 

“Our hiring process, which includes females and African American applicants, has been consistent over the last 10 years and led to an increasingly diverse department, especially over the past several years," Ruszkowski said in an Oct. 11 released statement. 

South Bend Police work to 'build back' diverse hires

South Bend officials say diversity is a priority at the city's police department. 

Mueller addressed the diversity staffing levels within the South Bend Police Department at the 2024 Quarter 3 Public Safety Update. Mueller discussed the current “stable” staffing levels at the police department as it hires new officers to replace officers who have retired or resigned. 

A lot of diverse hires were made decades ago, Mueller said. 

“Into the 2010s, we saw the number drop rather substantially as those officers reached retirement age and left our police retirement,” he said on Oct. 11. “ … We may be slightly down from our peak when one officer leaves and it changes percentages, but as a whole, we’re well above where we’ve been — especially over the 2010s.”

Over the past four years, Mueller said, the police department has done a great job in hiring in a difficult retention environment across the country.

"Not just replacing officers," he said, "but we’re making sure we’re making progress to have a police department that represents the diversity of our community.” 

South Bend Assistant Chief Dan Skibins echoed Mueller statements on Oct. 10, saying that five years ago African American officers represented less than 7% of the police department because of retirements. And 5% of officers were women at that time, as well, he said. The number of Hispanic officers at the department, Skibins said, was slightly above 5%. 

“It’s been a build back over the last four years for us,” he said. 

During that time, overall staffing was 209 officers, he said, and the department explored several elements to get back to where it was, including salary increases, hiring bonuses, and hiring a new public information officer to advertise the police department. 

“While we’re doing that, preparing how we want to recruit and build our staffing back, (it) was about diversity — bringing back African American officers, female and Hispanic — so our department can reflect the community as best as possible,” he said. “That is still a priority for us, and it will still continue.” 

Each year, the department plans for the year ahead in terms of building upon its current diversity and to keep increasing it, Skibins said. 

They make subtle changes, he said, “because we don’t want to plateau. So it’s always a priority for us.”