Robbie Tolan Faces Long Recovery After Police Shooting

At 2 a.m. on December 31, a 23-year-old minor league baseball player named Robbie Tolan was driving to the home he lives in with his parents after going out to eat with his cousin. Even though Tolan had done nothing wrong, a police officer began to follow him. And even though Tolan was unarmed, another officer confronted Tolan once he reached his home, drew his gun, and shot him.

Tolan survived, but he was only recently released from the hospital, and he still has a bullet lodged in his liver and may never play baseball again. The gut-wrenching story is explored in a stunning report by Bryant Gumbel that will air Tuesday night on HBO's Real Sports.

Tolan is the son of Bobby Tolan, who played in the majors for 15 years and led the National League in stolen bases in 1970. The Tolans, who are black, live in Bellaire, a predominantly white suburb of Houston, and they believe that Robbie was a victim of racial profiling the night he was shot. It's hard to see how anyone could disagree.

The police officer who ran Tolan's license plates apparently had no reason to do so. But he did run them, and he entered the number incorrectly, leading him to believe the car was stolen. He and his supervisor followed Robbie home and ordered him to the ground as he tried to walk in his front door. Bobby and his wife were inside the home, heard a commotion and came out. When they did, one officer grabbed Robbie's mother and pushed her against her garage door. When Robbie yelled at the officer to stop manhandling his mother, the officer shot him in the chest.

The Bellaire Police Department originally claimed that the officer who shot Robbie Tolan has an excellent record, but Gumbel's report reveals that in reality, both he and the officer who incorrectly ran Tolan's license plate have had multiple reprimands for improper conduct, including actions that got them suspended without pay. Both officers are currently on paid leave while the Tolan incident is investigated.

Shockingly, even now the City of Bellaire is refusing to acknowledge what a grave injustice has taken place. Gumbel interviewed Bellaire Mayor Cindy Seigel, and she suggested that the shooting might have happened because young men have a tendency to "spout off," as if "spouting off" is a reason for a police officer to shoot an unarmed, innocent man on his own property.

Gumbel's report also cites statistics that indicate Bellaire's police are far more likely to stop minorities for traffic offenses than are police departments in other cities in the Houston area. More than a month after the Tolan shooting, the city has grudgingly agreed to put its officers through cultural sensitivity training.

The report will air on HBO Tuesday at 10 PM ET and re-air throughout the month, and any fair-minded person who watches it will conclude that what happened to Robbie Tolan is an outrage. Good for Bryant Gumbel for shedding light on it.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-16-2009 @ 11:18AM

nabpdcop said...

OMG did this really happen in AMERICA? Can't be, people don't do that to other people. I can't believe this took place. This is a DISGRACE. OPPS I forgot this is AMERICA the beautiful right, where everybody and everything is EQUAL right? RIGHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

2-16-2009 @ 12:53PM

encinomangt said...

I guess I should not be amazed that this still happens in America. It seems the education level should be raised for police. No college no job. I guess there would be no police on the street. No intelligent person would want to be a policeman. They get no respect and why should they when there are way too many trigger happy cops. Please why would a guy in a ritzy neighborhood with a cop behind casually drive home park his car and stroll into his house and then voluntarily come back outside with his mother. Fired and locked up for attempted murder and every other thing they can come up with. I hope they sue and own the town and bend over the mayor.

2-16-2009 @ 1:23PM

hatick said...

That's how redneck Texas justice works, thank God I live in California. I hope that justice prevails for Robbie and his family; corrupt cops must be exposed and imprisoned!

3-03-2009 @ 4:54PM

umbra7816 said...

Ummm...you really need to read this then...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/06/BART.shooting/?iref=mpstoryview

2-16-2009 @ 1:27PM

ajackson7738 said...

This is Texas after all people, the folk here carry guns and the police use theirs. That is too much authority to give to any human (the decision of life or death). The police have that authority and don't mind using it. They already know the outcome. Justified. Look at the two outragious shootings in New York. Need I say more. Justified!

2-16-2009 @ 2:37PM

surfacing7682 said...

To quote RATM:
"Land of the free? Hah!
Whoever told you that is your enemy."

We have way too many cops and too many of them are stupid.

2-16-2009 @ 3:13PM

kjoh831393 said...

That is a laugher, we have too many cops. No, we have too many that shouldn't be cops. Unfortunately law breakers are growing all of the time. In this case, the officer should be convicted and thrown in jail. I have met numerous young men in the past year that are police officers or trying to become officers and the glaring fact that stands out with these guys is that they are cocky, arrogant and have no idea on how life works. They want the power but unfortunately have no idea how to use it accordingly. This story sickens me and if what the story is true about the police department in Bellaire the state needs to step in and clean house. Starting with the top. Obviously they are being trained or directed poorly. Bring in the Texas Rangers if need be.

2-16-2009 @ 4:29PM

mercuriojoe said...

CULTURAL SENSITIVITY TRAINING! THERE SHOULD BE RIOTS ALL ACROSS THIS COUNTRY

2-23-2009 @ 12:31AM

brianbkrb01 said...

yeah that'll show them. rioting the answer to all proplems. idiot!

2-16-2009 @ 4:37PM

tps3112 said...

this is a tragedy.Cops need better training period. This type of sterotyping is not as uncommon as you think, I have two children(now adults). My son looks dark like his Spanish mother while my red haired daughter looks like her Irish father. We lived in an upper class white neighborhood and I was a recognized business owner in Burbank Il. My son was stopped by the police and his blond girlfriend was asked repeatedly why she was out with a beaner like him. he was slammed against the car, shoes removed and searched. my daughter drove by ,stopped and asked what the problem was and was told it was no place for a white girl. My daughter called me and when I arrived I was told to get lost it was none of my business. My son was in cuffs for resisting arrest. suddenly the cuffs were removed and the police told us to forget what happened here. No apology , nothing. It was amazing to see the change of attitude when discovering his mother was a 20 year veteran of the local police dept. But what if this had been some other poor Hispanic boy?

2-18-2009 @ 1:03AM

cnakao534 said...

Blame Bill Clinton he said we need more cops.yes all the looking is to get a blow job and get away with it.

2-18-2009 @ 6:41PM

houstonwatchdog said...

Okay, let's tell the story like it really is.

1. He was at dinner at 2a.m.? Hmm...maybe he was intoxicated...if the lawyers from Tolan's side would allow that to be revealed, everyone may take different tone.

2. This was a "felony" stop, period. In a felony stop, they are asked to get on the ground.

3. The mom came outside and was yelling "what are you doing to my boy", the officers asked her to step back, and let them resolve the situation. The mom would not, the officer, who did not shoot Tolan, put his arm out to push her back. Remember, this is a felony stop, and at that time, it had not be decided that it was NOT stolen as of yet.

4. Finally. This kid had absolutely no chance of making it in baseball. Check the internet, and Prarie View A.M., he was going no where, living in the shadow of his dad. By him saying that his "baseball career" is over....makes me wonder how credible this guy really is.

I think the best is yet to come. The facts have not all been revealed as of yet. And when they do, be careful, those throwing stones. You could end up in court being sued yourself for slander. Just ask Quannel X. He is being sued by the Houston Police Department for making false allegations against a few officers, in a huge lie of a case.

2-19-2009 @ 11:21PM

slickpz said...

you are ignorant-- how is it a felony stop if he was in his own car? Wasn't he stopped at his house? and what does it matter if he will make it in baseball? he was in the minors and could have been a career minor league player or eventually made it? -- there are players that make it at an older age (see the St. Louis Cardinals outfield of last year) And since when it is illegal to be at a diner at 2am? I am from NY and diner at 2am is not out of the ordinary for a kid that age.

2-20-2009 @ 6:43PM

rob said...

Excellent post. Anything involving Quannel X has to be met with a certain degree of skepticism, unfortunately Michael David Smith, the great journalist that he is, probably has no clue who Quannel X is or what he's about.

2-19-2009 @ 11:18PM

anyone shocked this happened in TEXAS; yeewhaw freakin cowboys down their-- they need to move to a coast and stop with the whole in cest