HOUSTON (AP) _ Representatives for a Bellaire police veteran indicted for the New Year’s Eve wounding of an aspiring baseball player that brought accusations of racial profiling say the officer maintains he isn’t a racist.
A Harris County grand jury on Monday indicted Sgt. Jeffrey Cotton on one count of aggravated assault by a public servant for the shooting that injured 23-year-old Robert Tolan, son of former major league baseball player Bobby Tolan.
Robert Tolan, who is black, was shot on Dec. 31 at his family’s home in the Houston enclave of Bellaire after officers erroneously thought he was driving a stolen car.
Attorney Paul Aman’s assistant, David Donahue, said in a story in Tuesday’s online edition of the Houston Chronicle that Cotton did what any prudent officer would have done in the same situation. Donahue said Cotton, who is white, is not a racial profiler.