Wiretapping litigation has cost South Bend $1.6M to date
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - South Bend taxpayers have so far been saddled with about $1.6 million in attorney fees and the costs of settling lawsuits sparked by the police department's recording of some officers' telephone conversations.
The city and its Common Council have together spent almost $800,000 on attorney fees to date in the ongoing legal battle over the recordings. South Bend also has settled three lawsuits for another $810,000, boosting the total cost of the litigation to about $1.6 million, the South Bend Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/14ISLmY ).
The last remaining legal question is whether the wiretapping was illegal, which will determine whether anyone can listen to the recordings without breaking the law.
South Bend, joined by four officers, battled the council on that question during a two-day trial in August. A federal judge has not yet ruled.
The legal battles arose from the police department's practice of recording some officers' phone lines, which came to light in 2011 and prompted Mayor Pete Buttigieg in 2012 to demote then-police chief Darryl Boykins.
"We're all frustrated with the cost and length of these legal proceedings, but things have now reached the point that only the courts can draw the line decisively on whether these recordings can be accessed without violating federal laws," Kara Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Buttigieg's office, said in a statement.
Former police communications director Karen DePaepe testified in August that she listened to conversations recorded from the office phone line of then-Capt. Brian Young. DePaepe said she heard discussions that concerned her, and made cassette tapes she took to Boykins.
The content of those recordings led to lawsuits that pitted the city against itself, with the Common Council subpoenaing the city for the tapes.
The council maintains that it was its duty to exercise its subpoena power since some community members were clamoring for transparency.
"There were a lot of questions regarding what is this all about," councilman Dave Varner said.
City officials maintain DePaepe illegally listened to the recordings in violation of the Federal Wiretap Act.
Young and three other officers who are said to be on the tapes sued the city for what they said was an illegal wiretap. The city settled with the officers for $500,000, with Boykins for $75,000 and with DePaepe for $235,000. That settlement money comes from a different pool of funds, but it's all taxpayer money.
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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com