State tries to build case against South Bend police officer; city resists records release
As the state builds its case against a South Bend police officer accused of official misconduct, prosecutors have asked for South Bend Police Department records related to its internal investigation into the officer's behavior.
But the City of South Bend is resisting the request, saying the records are confidential
"The Internal Affairs records of the South Bend Police Department are not disclosable because they involve confidential personnel records," assistant South Bend city attorney Andrea Beachkofsky wrote in a recent court filing in St. Joseph Superior Court, on behalf of the department.
Prosecutors said they believe some of the information in the records could show whether the officer, Jeffery Chester, has a history of misconduct, and highlight any inconsistencies between what he and others told internal investigators compared to what they told Special Victims Unit detectives.
Chester, 26, is accused of fondling two different women on separate occasions while on-duty last fall.
A third woman, who came forward after Chester was charged, has alleged that Chester told her to show him her breasts, according to court documents. (The state notified the court that it intends to use her story at trial, pending the court's approval.)
The police department conducted an internal investigation on the allegations, and placed Chester on unpaid administrative leave.
Meanwhile, detectives from the Special Victims Unit began investigating on the criminal side, and Chester was eventually charged with two counts of felony official misconduct and two counts of misdemeanor battery.
When the state subpoenaed for the department’s records in January, the city of South Bend, on behalf of the department, filed a motion in court to try to keep the documents from being released. The city argued that doing so would compromise the confidentiality promised to other officers who gave statements to internal affairs, and that it would violate terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the police union.
The city also argued that the state’s request was “far too broad.”
The city also argued that the state’s request was “far too broad.”
On Monday, deputy prosecuting attorney Cara Brook asked Judge John Marnocha to compel the city to release the records.
She also narrowed the state's request to include only recorded statements of witnesses, photographs and video recordings from those witness statements, and any content in Chester's personnel file that would indicate dishonest behavior.
Marnocha set a hearing on the issue for 10:30 a.m. March 29.
Chester's trial date is May 15. He remains on unpaid administrative leave with the police department, pending the outcome of his criminal case, according to the department