Valparaiso City Council member Robert Cotton narrowly avoided losing his position as council president. A motion to vacate the presidency failed by a vote of four-to-three Tuesday.
His removal had been requested by the Valparaiso chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, following a Facebook comment Cotton made about April's fatal police-involved shooting. Cotton reportedly compared the "recklessly inaccurate gunshots being fired by a panicked boy/young man" with those "being fired from the guns of a team of skilled marksmen, that were targeting him."
Officer Steven Augustine told council members that his patrol vehicle was shot three times during the incident. "These comments were not only rude and disrespectful to the police officers involved, but if the roles were reversed, I would have severe disciplinary actions brought against me for such comments," Augustine said.
FOP President Benjamin Teufel said Cotton's comment was ill-willed and showed he had no regard for the truth. "Unfortunately, Mr. Cotton's clear bias against law enforcement has reared its head in such a way that we find ourselves here today," Teufel added.
FOP members' frustration went beyond Cotton's Facebook comment. They discussed multiple traffic stops in they characterized Cotton as uncooperative -- hesitating to let officers see his drivers license, attempting to get out of his vehicle and trying to contact the police chief. Officers said Cotton also accused them of stopping him because of his race. In most of those cases, officers said they gave Cotton a verbal warning.
Meanwhile, police social worker Natalie Kasberger felt Cotton was unprofessional the first time she met him. "He kindly welcomed me to Valpo, yet through the conversation, referred to me or my position as 'another white girl who thinks that she is here to save the world,'" Kasberger told council members.
Still, Cotton's supporters felt his apology for his social media post was sufficient.
Resident George Terrell found it hard to believe that politics and race weren't factors in the FOP's efforts to remove him. "Robert Cotton is the only African American ever elected to an office in Valparaiso, and this, it seems to me — I don't know quite how to put it. It's vindictive," Terrell said.
In the end, Democrat Diana Reed crossed party lines to vote for Cotton's removal. She said Cotton doesn't have the leadership skills to serve as president.
"I've had individuals share words that he has used which have insulted and disparaged them," Reed said. "I've witnessed taunting, and I, too, have been on the receiving end of inappropriate and offensive comments made by Councilman Cotton."
Republican council members Peter Anderson and Jack Pupillo felt it would be hard to move on from the issue without officers' trust.
Cotton, meanwhile, said he wished his apology was quicker, and he called for healing. "I sincerely am humbled by my own flaws" Cotton said. "They're not what's in my heart."
The discussion came after the council unanimously passed a resolution commending the actions of the officers involved in April's shooting.
Council member Emilie Hunt thanked police for putting their lives on the line every day. "On that day, that active shooter was stopped from being a mass shooter because of you, and there is not enough gratitude in my words to fully appreciate what you guys have done for our city, so thank you," Hunt said.
The resolution also highlighted the fact that the Valparaiso Police Department is one of only 14 departments in the state to meet the standards of the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies — something Cotton pointed out during his turn thanking officers. "It was very important to Chief [Mike] Brickner to establish that initial designation, and I'm happy for the role that I played in contributing in that regard," Cotton said.
However, some members of the public criticized Cotton for relating the department's accreditation back to himself.
