Sheriff calls to close drug treatment facility in his town while pushing to keep actual drug house open in South Bend

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. — St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman (D) is calling for a drug rehabilitation center in Mishawaka to close its doors while at the same time pushing to keep a drug addled homeless program operational in the City of South Bend. It turns out, the Sheriff lives in the City of Mishawaka while he and his deputies are not responsible for anything that happens in South Bend.

According to an article in the South Bend Tribune, Redman stated “Praxis, an all-male drug and alcohol rehabilitation center run by Landmark Recovery, has endangered its residents and put an undue strain on law enforcement since the facility opened last August.”

There have been multiple recent overdose deaths at the facility. However, at the same time, Sheriff Redman has been calling for the Motels 4 Now homeless program in South Bend to remain open, despite multiple overdoses and overdose deaths along with thousands of other crimes.

In January, Sheriff Redman sent a letter to county officials advocating for criminals to not be arrested and to instead be housed at Motels 4 Now.

“These individuals would otherwise be wandering the streets of St. Joseph County or be housed at the St. Joseph County Jail.” Redman stated in his letter, letting it be known that he does not want to arrest criminals in the community. “Being held in our jail is not the solution!”

A public records request by REAL News Michiana discovered police were called to the Motels 4 Now program more than 1,000 times since opening in 2020. Police responded 250 times from December of 2021 through December of 2022. The calls include everything from stabbings to overdoses, sexual assaults and thefts.

While a large number of the calls (42) were for reporting “Unwanted Persons,” it is apparent crime is a major problem with the program located at the old Knights Inn on Lincolnway West in South Bend. Below is a breakdown of some of the highlights.

Assault: 17 Calls

Theft: 15 Calls

Disturbance: 15 Calls

Overdose: 14 Calls

Threat: 10 Calls

Suspicious Activity: 8 Calls

Fighting: 4 Calls

Burglary: 3 Calls

Weapons: 3 Calls

Shots Fired: 3 Calls

Harassment: 3 Calls

Vandalism: 2 Calls

Stabbing: 1 Call

Sex Assault: 1 Call

Drugs: 1 Call

Just this month police have been called 5 times regarding incidents related to Motels 4 Now. Those calls involved aggravated assault with a knife, assault and battery and burglary.

Earlier this year, RNM reported on multiple overdose deaths related to the facility as well.

CRIME RATES UNDER REDMAN

Crime rates have also soared under Redman’s leadership. Burglaries alone jumped more than 40 percent from 2019 to 2020. Active criminal warrants have also surged under Redman’s watch. However, the Sheriff attempted to hide much of the crime data from the public.

Prior to the 2022 general election, the St. Joseph County Police Department removed certain crime data from its website shortly after the St. Joseph County GOP put out an advertisement regarding the rising stats under Democrat Sheriff William Redman.

In a radio ad at the time, the St. Joseph County GOP stated there are more than 4,000 active warrants in the county. At the time of the ad, REAL News Michiana was able to verify that number by visiting the “warrant search” section of the St. Joseph County Police Website. However, in an attempt to check those numbers again, RNM discovered the search option disappeared from the taxpayer funded webpage.

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