It was 2 a.m. on December 31 when Tolan and his cousin, Anthony Cooper, were confronted in the driveway of their home by Bellaire, Texas, police officers. Police officials say the officers suspected the two young men were driving a stolen car.
Bellaire is a prominent, mostly white suburb in southwest Houston.
. Watch outrage over shooting of an unarmed man ยป
Robbie Tolan is the son of a once-prominent professional baseball player. His father, Bobby Tolan, had a 15-year career for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, spanning 1965 to 1979. He played on one of the most-heralded Cardinal teams ever: the 1967 World Series champs.
The younger Tolan is just starting to develop his own baseball career. He’s played in the Washington Nationals minor league system and spent part of last season playing for the Bay Area Toros of the Continental Baseball League.
Tolan’s relatives say the two young men had just arrived from a late-night run to a Jack-in-the-Box fast food restaurant.
As they walked up the driveway to their home, Anthony Cooper said an unidentified man emerged from the darkness with a flashlight and a gun pointed at them.
“We did not know it was a police officer,” said Cooper. “He said, ‘Stop. Stop.’ And we were like, ‘Why? Who are you?’”
The officers ordered both men to lie down on the ground. Tolan’s parents heard the commotion and came outside. Police will only say an “altercation” took place. Tolan’s family say it involved his mother.
“The cop pushed her against the wall,” said Tolan’s uncle, Mike Morris.
Relatives say Tolan started to lean up from the ground to ask the officer what he was doing to his mother. That’s when the family says Tolan was shot in the chest, the bullet piercing his lung and then lodging in his liver.
I’m Still Having A Hard Time Wrapping My Mind Around How You Shoot A UNARMED Man, The Shit Is Mind Boggling. Damn Shame We Not Even 2 Weeks Into The New Year And Shit Like This Is STILL Going On.
Fuck the nigga in the video saying it aint racial profiling. What the fuck is then? Two White Cops, Two Guns,Two Unarmed Black Dudes (lying on the ground), One Unarmed Mother! Lock Both Of They Bitch Asses Up! There Is No Way To Explain Themselves…Couldn’t!
F.T.P.