South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski, Appointed by Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Defends Officer's Use of Force on 14-Year-Old Girl
- Logan Foster
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 26
August 20, 2025
by
Logan Foster
Chief Scott Ruszkowski dismisses community concerns, defends controversial McDonald's encounter as justified use of force. South Bend Mayor James Mueller was not in attendance to provide remarks or answer questions.
South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski, who was appointed to the role of Police Chief by former-Mayor Pete Buttigieg and retained this role by Buttigieg's protégé and South Bend's current mayor, James Mueller, doubled down on his department's handling of a controversial incident involving a 14-year-old girl, showing little empathy for the juvenile while aggressively defending the officer's actions during a tense press briefing Wednesday.
The incident, which occurred outside South Bend's downtown McDonald's, sparked widespread criticism after video footage went viral. Despite outcries from community members, Chief Scott Ruszkowski remained defiant, challenging critics to find fault with his officers' conduct.
"Tell me what you saw wrong. Anybody can," Chief Scott Ruszkowski said dismissively when pressed about the officer's behavior toward the 14-year-old girl.
Police Chief Prioritizes His Adult Officer Over A Child's Welfare
Throughout the contentious briefing, Chief Scott Ruszkowski consistently framed the incident from the perspective of Patrolman Samuel Chaput while showing minimal concern for the juvenile involved. Chief Scott Ruszkowski emphasized the officer's community involvement, saying: "this is the same officer, mind you, that every one of you in this room has seen painting thousands of faces of our kids at every one of our events with his own time, his own energy, his own money, his own equipment, has kids of his own, fosters kids, works with kids." (We should ask, did the officer paint the faces of 1,000's of "kids" or 1,000's of "juveniles"? As Chief Scott Ruszkowski wants to differentiate the two.)
When discussing the girl's treatment, however, Chief Scott Ruszkowski took a markedly different tone, repeatedly referring to her as a "juvenile" rather than acknowledging her status as a child, and noting pointedly that she "should have been in school", even though she had an excused release from school via her mother's permission (source: WNDU)
"A juvenile that's 14 years old. We've had shooters in our city younger than that. We had a police officer killed by somebody who was only two years older than 14. So all these things are in consideration." Chief Scott Ruszkowski said, appearing to justify the forceful treatment of the 14-year-old by comparing her to violent criminals.
Dismissive Response to Community Concerns
Chief Scott Ruszkowski showed particular disdain for public criticism, categorizing community members who raised concerns as having questionable motives.
"I know there's a lot of A personalities in our community. There's average folks, there's activists, there's anarchists, and there's antagonists. Those are the A's that I know for 37 years of doing this job." Chief Scott Ruszkowski said, seemingly dismissing legitimate community concerns about police conduct.
Ruszkowski's comments extended to social media critics, whom he characterized as "the media and all the experts that appear to be on social media of how they should be doing his job and never stepped once into our patrol car or our shoes."
Use of Force Committee Clears Officer Despite Video Evidence
Despite acknowledging that the girl was held down on the ground, Chief Scott Ruszkowski and his department's Use of Force Committee found nothing problematic with Chaput's actions. Chief Scott Ruszkowski was adamant in his defense, stating: "We have convened our use of force committee. They found nothing wrong. Our policies were followed. Our training was followed." When pressed about the level of force used against the juvenile, Chief Scott Ruszkowski characterized her behavior as "active and physical," justifying the officer's response. He noted that the girl "was hitting the officer sideways on the ground" while being restrained.
The chief seemed particularly focused on defending against claims that the officer "slammed" the girl down, repeatedly emphasizing: "You saw it. That did not happen."
Lack of Accountability Amid Ongoing Investigation
While Internal Affairs continues its investigation, Chief Scott Ruszkowski's premature defense of his officer raises questions about the department's commitment to an impartial review. The chief's combative stance during the briefing suggested the outcome may already be predetermined.
"It's already bad enough," Chief Scott Ruszkowski said of his officer's situation, expressing sympathy for Chaput who is “not taking it well” and who "has to endure this for the last four or five days now and his family."
Notably absent was similar concern expressed for the 14-year-old girl who was physically restrained and detained, or acknowledgment of the trauma such an encounter might cause a child.
Community Trust at Risk
The Chief's handling of this incident and his dismissive attitude toward community concerns may further strain relationships between the South Bend Police Department and residents. Ruszkowski's challenge to critics - "I'm defending what what happened because I saw nothing that that officer did wrong and I've been a cop for 37 years, if anybody, if anybody, in this room can out or out there can beat that let me know" - suggests little willingness to consider alternative perspectives or that there will be a fair investigation.
As a key figure in former Mayor Pete Buttigieg's administration, Chief Scott Ruszkowski's handling of this incident may also cast a shadow on former Mayor Pete Buttigieg's legacy in South Bend. Current Mayor James Mueller, Buttigieg's chosen protégé, has continued this soiled legacy by retaining Chief Scott Ruszkowski as police chief, further intertwining the two administrations' controversial approach to police-community relations.
Lastly, we must ask: South Bend Common Council members Canneth Lee (District 1) and Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers (District 2), who are connected through marriage and share family members in the South Bend Police Department, will these close ties to the department impact their ability to act impartially and fairly given cases of misconduct and issues like approving the upcoming police budget?
