Mishawaka City Clerk’s husband arrested for drunk driving after crashing truck — SBPD appears to conceal name

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The husband of Mishawaka City Clerk Debbie Ladyga-Block has been charged with drunk driving after crashing his truck in front of a school bus. According to charging documents, 68-year-old Donald Block had a bottle of vodka in his pocket when officers found him at the scene of the crash.

According to court documents, Block crashed his truck just after 5:00pm on Wednesday near Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. Officers observed “bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and the odor of an alcoholic beverage,” according to a police narrative of the incident. Officers later found a bottle of vodka in his pocket.

Block appeared uninjured and his vehicle did not sustain any damage, however, Block was not able to stand or walk and was taken to the hospital via ambulance where a blood sample was taken to determine his blood alcohol content (BAC). Block’s exact BAC will not be known until a toxicology report is completed.

SBPD CONCEALS BLOCK’S IDENTITY

Block was allowed to stay at the hospital for observation and was never sent to the jail to be processed — meaning there is no jail record of the arrest and he did not have a mugshot taken. Instead, officers processed Block using what is called a “long form arrest” in which evidence and testimony is sent directly to the prosecutor’s office to determine if charges should be filed. The prosecutor’s office filed charges against Block this morning.

While a “long form arrest” is not uncommon, the South Bend Police Department also did not include Block’s name on its public call log. The call log typically identifies the location, incident type, victim and suspect. The log narrative in Block’s drunk driving incident provides all of that information, but excludes the suspect’s name.

RNM reached out to SBPD’s media contact and Chief of Police Scott Ruszkowski to get information on the arrest. Ruszkowski refused to identify the suspect, falsely claiming identifying a criminal suspect would be a violation of HIPAA laws. When pressed further, Ruszkowski claimed it was SBPD policy not to identify suspects who were arrested using the “long form” process. When RNM explained the identity of the suspect was not protected information and that it appeared suspicious that the Chief was not identifying the husband of a well-connected Democrat official, the Chief went on an unhinged tirade.

“Are you kidding me???” Ruszkowski wrote in an email. “I was hoping my gut was wrong in that you’d not try and make this nefarious innuendo/accusation but you did. I’ve exhausted my benefit of the doubt given to you, despite many others telling me long ago not to give you any. I’ve never not been 100 with you, ever. You think I’d pick now to start???”

The entire email conversation can be read in the PDF file below.

CONNECTIONS TO THE DEMOCRAT PARTY

While it’s unclear if Block’s identity was concealed from all of the public documents for political favor, he and his wife are well connected throughout the community. There is also growing speculation that SBPD Chief Scott Ruszkowski plans to run for Sheriff as a Democrat in 2026.

Donald Block is a retired firefighter with the Mishawaka Fire Department. His wife, Debbie Ladyga-Block (D), is the long-time Mishawaka City Clerk. Ladyga-Block was also the Vice Chair of the St. Joseph County Democrat Party for nearly 30 years. Ladyga-Block is also close friends with St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman, who endorsed Ladyga-Block in her re-election efforts this past fall.

Ladyga-Block also received the endorsement of Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood, whose adult son was involved in a drunk driving cover-up late last year.

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