Indiana cop asked to stop selling ‘Breathe easy’ shirts

Dec. 13: Notre Dame players warm up before an NCAA college basketball game against Michigan in South Bend, Ind. (AP)

Three South Bend city council members want a police officer to stop selling T-shirts that are a response to protests over a New York City man’s chokehold death.

Members of the Notre Dame women’s basketball team wore T-shirts prior to a weekend game reading “I can’t breathe” that reference the last words of a black man who died during an arrest in New York City after a white police officer placed him in a chokehold.

Mishawaka Police officer Jason Barthel began selling T-shirts at a store he owns this week with the message

“Breathe easy, don’t break the law” in response to the Notre Dame protest.

The South Bend Tribune reports three Common Council members want Barthel to stop selling those shirts, saying they send a “divisive message.”