South Bend police tapes controversy boils over

SOUTH BEND — Two of the four officers in the wiretap case spoke publicly about the issue for the first time Monday, urging the Common Council to abandon its pursuit of the controversial recordings.

The council thus far has issued two subpoenas for the recordings, which may or may not capture high-ranking officers making racist comments and talking about breaking the law.

Both subpoenas remain the subject of ongoing litigation.

“I’m not rolling over, I’m not going to take it,” a defiant Tim Corbett, commander of the county Metro Homicide Unit, said during privilege of the floor. “It ain’t happening.”

Corbett denied having heard the recordings, and referred to claims about their content as unproven.

“I’d like to know where all these facts are coming from,” he said. “They’re not facts, they’re fallacies. It has not been proved. Nothing has been proved.”

Lt. David Wells, assistant commander of the Metro Homicide Unit, joined Corbett.

“I am asking this body to stop pursuing efforts that continue to prolong this drama with no apparent end in sight,” he said in a prepared statement. “The politics and personal agendas of some both elected and in the private sector are damaging for all the people of South Bend and its reputation as a whole.”

Wells added that the case “has not only affected my personal life but my professional career, referring to an “atmosphere of hostility” that “continues for me every day this matter remains unresolved.”

In less scripted comments, Corbett accused members of Citizens United for Better Government, a local watchdog group that has long-advocated for the release of the tapes, of political games and harassment.

“We’re not going to go away, we’re going to fight,” he said. “You can snicker, you can giggle, you can follow us around with your recording devices and all that kind of stuff, have all your little sneaky games you want, it doesn’t frighten anybody.”

“Ninety percent of our homicides last year were black-on-black crimes … and we fight every day to try to stop that," he added. "And all this does is stir up the pot.”

As he returned to his seat, he brushed past a member of the citizens' group, snapping, “Get away from me.” The two retreated to the lobby to discuss the matter. A police officer followed.

Wells and Corbett previously shared in a $500,000 settlement from the city in a related case that involved officers Steve Richmond and Brian Young and Young’s wife, Sandy Young, as well.

The five had sued the city for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Mario Sims, a spokesperson for Citizens United For Better Government, later accused Corbett and Wells of misrepresenting the facts in the case.

“I respect Lt. Wells a great deal … I have always supported law enforcement,” Sims told the council. “But facts are facts, and what was said tonight was not true.”

He added that it “is insane for them to come up here after being paid $500,000 … and we still don’t know if we have police officers plotting murder or committing crimes.”

Asked to respond to the officer’s comments, council President Tim Scott referred all questions to Robert Palmer, part of the legal team representing the council in the case.

Palmer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Wells and Corbett are among four police officers involved in the case, which stems from the accidental recording of a police department telephone line beginning in 2010.

Former communications director Karen DePaepe discovered the error in February 2011 but continued to record the line at the insistence of then-police Chief Darryl Boykins.

DePaepe has claimed in court documents that the recordings capture high-ranking officers making racist comments about Boykins, who is black, and discussing breaking the law.

The matter became public in 2012, when Mayor Pete Buttigieg demoted Boykins and fired DePaepe, citing a then-ongoing investigation into whether the recordings violated the federal Wiretap Act.

The council later subpoenaed the city for access to the tapes, setting off the current legal battle.

The case is currently in a holding pattern as the appeals process plays out in federal court, where a judge recently ruled that some of the recordings may be released.

Corbett said he decided to speak out Monday to address the “lies and innuendos” that people have been spreading about him and the other officers in the case.

“There comes a time when you have to stand up,” he said. “It gets real old, and it gets real old quick.”

In a statement late Monday night, Mayor Pete Buttigieg sided with the officers in the matter.

“I have directed the administration to be as responsive as legally possible, but it is now clear that as long as the council is pressing subpoena actions, we can expect more litigation from the police officers, and the city will be stuck in the middle," Buttigieg said.

He added that he has asked to meet with council leadership, their attorneys and the officers “in order to seek a resolution that prevents further litigation at taxpayer expense.”

eblasko@sbtinfo.com

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@ErinBlasko