Shoot First, Deny Everything Later

The picture to the right is of Robbie Tolan. Robbie is the son of former major league baseball player Bobby Tolan. Robbie is also currently in a Houston hospital with a police officers .45 caliber bullet lodged in his liver. Robbie was shot in his own driveway, in front of both of his parents. The events leading up to the shooting are troubling, to say the least. Robbie and his cousin, Anthony Cooper, went to a Jack-in-the-box for some food after midnight on New Years day in Robbie's 2004 Nissan Xtera. They arrived back at Robbies parents home sometime around 2 am, and were surprised in the driveway by a man with a flashlight and a gun. Turns out the man was a police officer. He ordered Robbie and Anthony onto the ground, claiming that he believed the Xtera was a stolen vehicle. Robbie loudly protested that he was the owner and it wasn't stolen. Robbie's parents heard the commotion happening in the driveway and went outside to see just what the fuck was going on. When Robbies mom heard the cop claiming the vehicle was stolen, she told the cop that she was the homeowner; this was her son on the ground; it was his vehicle; it was not stolen. Did she get too close to the cop? Don't know. But the cop grabbed her by the arm and pushed her up against the garage door. Robbie began to move from his prone position on the ground, and the cop shot him, through the lung with the bullet lodging in his liver. The cop also fired two more shots, that didn't hit anyone, and actually seem to have been fired upwards. Exactly how did this cop come to the conclusion that the vehicle was stolen? Didn't he radio in to check the plate? I would think radioing for a plate check would be "Cop 101", before deciding a vehicle is stolen. Of course, the Tolans are the only black family in a wealthy white suburb of Houston... but the local police are claiming it wasn't a racial thing. Robbie will live, but his young baseball career is probably over, as the doctors say the bullet can't be removed. The cop is on administrative leave. I fully expect the police force to find the shooting of an unarmed black male in his own driveway who commited absolutely no crime to be justified. They cover their own asses. No matter what the facts are. Found the story originally over at The Agitator (link over there --->)