So far this year, not a single citizen complaint has been filed against the South Bend Police Department.

Through the end of August, no one has alleged that an officer used excessive force, despite the fact that there have been 35 use-of-force incidents.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg cited the statistic as he spoke of a need for more minority officers on the force.

"People may feel excluded from this profession, for reasons that aren't really justified. For example, if you're troubled by what you read in the national news about relations between law enforcement and minorities, you might respond to that by becoming an activist. You might respond to that by becoming an attorney. My point is you might respond to that by becoming a police officer as well," Buttigieg explained.

"When you see social media and media a lot of times berating the police, putting false stories out there, who would want to do this job? On the same token, people who really and truly know should love to want to do this job," South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski said.

"Over the last five to six years we've hired, approximately 27 percent of the individuals at the fire department have been non-white males. It's currently five percent total. We've made some inroads," said South Bend Fire Chief Stephen Cox.

A public safety job fair will be held Thursday in South Bend, and representatives from the following nine separate police and fire departments will be on hand to talk to potential applicants: South Bend Fire, South Bend Police, St. Joseph County Police, Mishawaka Police, Mishawaka Fire, Clay Fire Territory, St. Joseph Co. Airport Authority, Notre Dame Security Police, and Michigan City Fire.

The fair runs from 4-7 p.m. Thursday at the South Bend Fire Training Center at 710 E. Sample St.