Judge dismisses libel suit against South Bend council member

MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) - A northern Indiana judge has dismissed a libel lawsuit filed by four South Bend police officers who allege a city council member libeled them during a wiretapping investigation.

St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jenny Manier dismissed the lawsuit against Henry Davis Jr. on Monday with prejudice. That means the officers can't refile it. The South Bend Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1KGVcqx ) the judge dismissed it after Davis's attorney, A. Robert Masters, argued the officers couldn't pursue Davis personally after dismissing the city and council members as defendants.

The lawsuit alleges Davis committed libel in a 2012 letter asking the Department of Justice to investigate a controversy surrounding recordings of conversations among officers rumored to contain inappropriate comments on the part of local law enforcement leaders.

The officers plan to appeal.

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com