Bellaire Examiner - News
Police under fire after shooting
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| Former pro baseball star Bobby Tolan spoke briefly in his front yard Thursday. |
By CHARLOTTE AGUILAR
Bellaire’s police chief is reviewing “all processes and procedures” in the wake of the incident, even as a new Harris County District Attorney investigates whether to take the case before a grand jury to seek criminal charges against the officer.
The police review was the only piece of real news that City Manager Bernie Satterwhite delivered to City Council and a throng of news media and members of the victim's family Monday night.
Both Satterwhite and Mayor Cindy Siegel gave their best wishes for the speedy recovery of 23-year-old Robert "Robbie" Tolanbut said they would let the D.A.’s probe proceed without public speculation from them.
“We all want answers,” said Satterwhite. “Right now we are most concerned about the welfare of the young man in the hospital.”
Tolan has lived in the home in the 800 block of Woodstock Street since 1994 with his parents, who came out of the house after hearing a commotion and saw the shooting. His father, Bobby Tolan, was a lightning-fast star with the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.
“I’m sure the family feels bad towards the city they live in,” Satterwhite said.
Outside council chambers following Satterwhite and Siegel's remarks, the Tolans’ attorney confirmed that. Geoff Berg said the Tolans are seeking "some kind of disciplinary action" against the officer who shot their "innocent, unarmed son."
"I think the city would have done well if it would have said it was sorry just that it happened," Berg said.
Sgt. Jeff Cotton was working backup on a call of a stolen vehicle, according to police officials. According to the Tolan family, though, Robert and a relative, 20-year-old Anthony Cooper, were confronted by officers blinding them with a flashlight, guns drawn, in the driveway of the home, after making a fast-food run at about 2 a.m. Marian Tolan reportedly told the officers the vehicle, a 2004 Nissan Xterra, belonged to the family and that it was their residence. Both turned out to be true.
The family said that Cotton pushed Mrs. Tolan against the garage door and that Robert, who had complied with an order to lie on the ground, started to rise in reaction. That’s when they say he was shot.
He was taken to Ben Taub Hospital where he underwent surgery and was reported in stable condition. A spokeswoman for Ben Taub said Monday night he was no longer shown as a patient. ABC-13, the Examiners' broadcast news partner, showed a photo of Tolan reportedly in his hospital bed and said he is still hospitalized.
One of his attorneys told media outside City Council that the bullet lodged in Tolan's liver and can never be removed.
Cotton is the ranking officer on the 11 p.m.-7 a.m. shift, during which the shooting occurred.He’s a former community relations liaison for the department and is arguably its best trained officer in interacting with the public — including racial relations.
The Tolan family is charging racial profiling and is asking the D.A. to bring criminal charges against Cotton.
Bellaire officers carry tasers, and it’s unclear why the officer chose deadly force over that option.
That’s only one of many questions that lingers as the D.A.’s investigation proceeds away from public view.
Satterwhite noted that councilmembers are receiving “suggestions about what ought to be done” to Cotton, who has been placed on paid administrative leave, common practice among police departments after officer-involved shootings.
Ultimately, Satterwhite said, any decision about Cotton’s future with the city rests with him.
—With additional reporting from ABC-13
Scenes from a tragedy
The glimpses are haunting. The victim’s black SUV that police said they mistakenly believed was stolen, bearing “100 Club” stickers showing financial support for police welfare.
The smiling young man in his Bellaire Cardinals’ uniform. His minor league stats with Washington Nationals’ teams that show the tough life of a wannabe major leaguer. Three teams within months on the Gulf Coast and faraway cities in Maryland and Vermont.
The puzzled reaction of those who know the officer. They recall the guy who organized the National Nights Out, who put in child seats, taught rape defense and went to Bellaire residences to advise homeowners on how to burglar-proof them. Fellow officers picked him to represent them to management on matters of pay and promotion.
Normally open city officials were measuring their words within 24 hours of the shooting of Robbie Tolan by Sgt. Jeff Cotton, and an attorney from the Texas Municipal League — which carries Bellaire’s liability insurance — was vetting any public statements, a police spokesman said.
Here are pieces of what is known:
Robbie Tolan, the victim
•Graduate of Bellaire High School, where he played varsity baseball.
•Son of former major leaguer Bobby Tolan and Marian Tolan, who works with a group providing tutoring for students in low-performing schools.
•Lived with family in 800 block of Woodstock since 1994, three of 131 blacks tallied in the 2000 U.S. Census in Bellaire — 0.8 percent of the population of Bellaire.
•No criminal record
•Played for Prairie View A&M; signed to Washington Nationals system in 2007, played for Gulf Coast Nationals, Hagerstown Suns, Vermont Lake Monsters.
Sgt. Jeff Cotton, the officer
•Ten-year Bellaire PD veteran
•Former community resource officer, promoted to that post in 2001 and serving through 2004, when he was promoted again to
•Sergeant in the patrol division. “Most contact between police officers and citizens takes place within one of the areas of this division,” the police department’s website reads.
Police Department history
•Cited by Texas Criminal Justice Coalition for racial profiling in traffic stop consent searches, but by 2006, TCJC report titled Searching for Consent: An Analysis of Racial Profiling Data in Texas, reported the Bellaire PD had improved its rate. Police maintained that Bellaire’s proximity to racially diverse Houston communities and patrol of West Loop skewed the earlier figures.
•Controversial 1994 Bellaire police shooting of unarmed teen — cited recently in other news media — involved a white youth and Latino officer and did not result in criminal charges against the officer.
Some of the questions:
•What was the origin of the stolen vehicle report that led police to Tolan?
•What was the substantiation procedure for vehicle ownership? It took the Examiner 48 seconds to run the plate and determine it was the Tolans’ SUV on an online data search that requires a log-in and password.
•Had Tolan and his companion been searched? Did all officers know they were unarmed?
•Were police following procedure in how they allegedly handled Mrs. Tolan’s protest about the ownership of the vehicle?
•What was the content of the call for backup, and how many officers were at the scene at the time of the shooting?
•Why was deadly force used instead of a Taser, which is standard Bellaire police issue?