Athlete shot by police to tell his story on HBO 0
Last month, I posted a story about Robbie Tolan. Tolan, a minor league baseball player and son of form MLB player Bobbie Tolan, was shot in his own driveway in an affluent Houston suburb by a police officer who claims to have believed he was driving a stolen vehicle.
The circumstance surrounding the shooting, as well as the races of those involved. are raising clear questions about whether or not Tolan was racially profiled. Since that time, though not willing to come out and say that her city has a problem, the mayor of the suburb of Bellaire, TX, has already hired an outside consultant to look into traffic data in her town to determine if there is a pattern of racial profiling.
More importantly, perhaps, is that Robbie Tolan and his family will get a chance to tell their side of the story to the nation. Tomorrow night, on HBO’s Real Sports, there will be a segment highlighting this incident. Here’s some of what was discussed in that interview:
(Sgt. Jeff) Cotton “never said a word. He never said ‘shut up.’ He never said ‘get down’ or ‘stay down.’ He never said a word. He picked his gun, he took his gun and he just shot him,’” she said.
Robert Tolan told Gumbel that he found it difficult to return to the family home because “even though they cleaned it up, I can see the blood on the floor and on the concrete. I mean, I see everything that night.”
His parents remain critical of the manner in which the case has been handled by Bellaire officials and skeptical about their chances for a just resolution.
Referring to general comments by Bellaire Mayor Cindy Siegel in support of police, Marian Tolan said, “We’re residents of Bellaire. They didn’t serve and protect us. We weren’t passing through. We weren’t visiting. We’ve lived here.”
Real Sports will air Tuesday, February 17,2009. Check your local listings for times.
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