Unarmed 23-year-old black man Robbie Tolan was shot in his own driveway last Wednesday in Bellaire. The bullet pierced his lung and lodged in his liver, where doctors say it will likely remain for the rest of his life.The shooter was Sgt. Joseph Cotton, who evidently thought Tolan's 2004 Nissan Xterra was a stolen vehicle, although no one is saying exactly why he thought this. City officials aren't saying anything concrete on the matter; no one seems to know exactly what happened. They certainly
Robert Tolan got shot by Bellaire PD, and all he got was this lousy bullet lodged in his liver. That's all he's gotten so far, at least. Tolan was released from the hospital yesterday, and Hair Balls contacted his attorney to see what their next move is."Let me quote my favorite president, the current occupant of the White House: All options are on the table," Geoffrey Berg tells us.We suggested an apology from BPD might be a nice starting point. "I think the apology is something we'd love to se
As the Houston Chronicle reported today, the city of Bellaire has hired an outside consultant to review whether there's evidence of racial profiling in who the police department pulls over on traffic stops.The announcement came in the wake, of course, of the police shooting of resident Robert Tolan, gunned down by Bellaire cops in his driveway for no discernible good reason. After the incidents minorities came forward to talk of being singled out by police in the lily-white suburb.The Chron quot
Isiah Carey's Insite reports the Robbie Tolan/Bellaire police shooting story is going national.Bryant Gumbel of HBO's Real Sports was in town to interview Tolan, who was shot in his driveway by Bellaire cops. Tolan's father is former major leaguer Robert Tolan.Carey says Gumbel interviewed the entire family, and the family is now going into media lockdown until the show airs. When that happens -- supposedly next week -- they'll hold a press conference.Gumbel also found out what the rest of the l
Robert Tolan, the minor league baseball player shot by Bellaire cops in his parents' driveway on December 31, called for Bellaire Mayor Cindy Siegel's resignation at a press conference today.
"I would hope that Bellaire's residents are appalled and outraged," Tolan told a crowd of about 100 people who gathered in a Meyerland ballroom. "I would indeed like to see her resignation."
Tolan and his brother were returning to their parents' home when two officers pulled them over, for what Bellaire
When the city of Bellaire announced it was bringing in an expert to study whether its police force engaged in racial profiling, the lawyer for the kid whose shooting spawned the move was unimpressed. "Certainly, it's a PR move...I don't have a whole lot of confidence any of this will turn out to be legitimate," lawyer Geoffrey Berg told Hair Balls. "It's a PR move that was done because the ordinary people have let the city of Bellaire know that this situation is intolerable, and that's forced th
Photo by John Nova LomaxAs Hair Balls reported earlier, Bellaire cop Jeffrey Cotton was indicted for the December 31 shooting of Robbie Tolan.George Gibson and Geoffrey Berg, Tolan's attorneys, announced that the Tolan family will be filing a civil lawsuit, regardless of the outcome of the criminal case against Cotton. Gibson refused to give a timetable for the civil suit, but said it was coming "soon" and would enable them to obtain even more information on the events of the fateful night than
A respected preacher gets busted for child pornography on his computer. Has he delved into the worst of cyberspace depravity or just the stuff of scholarly research?
Robbie Tolan and his family have finally filed the long-awaited civil suit against the city of Bellaire and the cop who shot him in a high-profile incident that's brought national attention to the affluent suburb.The federal suit -- which contains explosive allegations of racist incidents by Bellaire officers -- focuses mostly on civil-rights violations, attorney Geoffrey Berg tells Hair Balls. The complaint does not specify any financial damages sought, but that will come later. (Read the compl
