South Bend’s Police Chief is speaking out after the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners delayed signing off on a contract with Oaklawn to implement a Mental Health Crisis Response Center.

Chief Scott Ruszkowski expressed his disappointment with the decision during the public comment portion of this week’s meeting, stating that the Police Department has been awaiting the creation of the center to help address the more than 900 mental health-related calls their officers service each year.

Responding to the Commissioners’ concerns that the contract was rushed, Ruszkowski stated that the mission to provide more robust mental health care to the residents of St. Joseph County has been several years in the making…far from rushed and already approved by the South Bend Common Council and the St. Joseph County Council.