Attorneys for a 23-year-old east Texas man, whom police shot in his own driveway after mistaking his SUV for a stolen car, say he was a victim of racial profiling. Robert Tolan, and his cousin, Anthony Cooper, were returning from a fast-food shop when police officers pulled up to Tolan’s home and ordered both men to the ground. Witnesses say that the two young men complied immediately and were lying on the sidewalk near his parents’ front door when Tolan looked up and protested the way the officers were treating his mother. She had come outside to see what all the commotion was about, United Press International reports. That’s when Bellaire Police Sgt. Jeff Cotton shot him, UPI reports. Police also fired at least two other shots, but they missed, witnesses said. Tolan, a former Bellaire High School baseball star and the son of former major league player Bobby Tolan, was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. Officials said he is expected to recover fully, UPI reports. “We want the district attorney to charge this officer,” said Geoffrey Berg. “There can’t be an explanation that can justify what the police did to this kid.” David Berg, another family attorney, said race prompted the shooting. Tolan is Black, and Cotton is White. “There’s no doubt in my mind that if these had been two White kids, they never would have been shot,” Berg said. Cotton, who has been on the force for 10 years, is on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Bellaire Assistant City Manager Diane K. White told UPI. Bobby Tolan said his son was pursuing a professional baseball career and has never had any trouble with Bellaire Police.

TAGS: Bellaire, Police shoot, Racial Profiling, Robert Tolan, Texas

Comments (64)