More than an hour of public comments, including police and first responders as counter opinions to an equal amount of supportive voices for Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton, guided dialogue at Monday’s council meeting with focus on the recent social media comments and the later apology from Cotton.
The Valparaiso chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police addressed the council with a prepared statement asking Cotton to step aside from his leadership role because of a comment he made on his Facebook page in the aftermath of a fatal police-involved shooting on April 25.
Cotton, D-2nd, said the comment was a reflection of the image he had of the shooting from an eye-witness account and he in no way meant to impugn the police.
“I’d like to express my regret that the comment was not written well enough to avoid gross misinterpretation of an indelible image conjured in my mind directly from an eyewitness statement reported in a local newspaper,” Cotton said has said after the FOP asked for his resignation as president. “In no way did I intend for this to be taken as criticism of our professional and highly skilled police, and my record of support is well documented.”
The Facebook comment, which has since been removed from his personal page, was made in the days after the shooting death of Caden Mura, 20, of Valparaiso, who police have said displayed a handgun at a Valparaiso park before shooting at police.
Three Valparaiso Police officers and two from the Porter County Sheriff’s Office are on paid administrative leave while the Indiana State Police’s Lowell post investigates the shooting.
Mura’s mother, Laurie Carmichael, was one of the more than two dozen residents expressing varied opinions about Cotton, the police and the events of April 25.
“For what you (Robert Cotton) said on Facebook, I could understand a stance of that, to a degree,” Carmichael said from the podium, directing her remarks to Cotton.
“But for these police officers that I knew, who have been to my house because my son has suffered from addiction since age 12,” she said, adding, “while Caden couldn’t make a decision that day, that’s because drugs made his decision, bad choices because of drug addiction.”
Carmichael ended her public comments by asking Cotton, “Sir, I would ask you to step down and would hate for you to be ousted, because your comments went far beyond that Facebook post that everybody saw.”
Cotton made no further statements at the meeting.
At the start of the meeting, Councilman Jack Pupillo, R-4th, who is the liaison to the city police and fire departments, read a prepared statement “about the events of April 25,” which Mayor Jon Costas described as the unified sentiment “of the entire council.”
“Based on the preliminary findings of the Indiana State Police, we understand the following: Officers from both the Porter County Sheriff’s Department and Valparaiso Police Department responded to Fairgrounds Park to investigate a report of an individual displaying a handgun,” Pupillo said in his prepared statement.
“After law enforcement made contact with the individual, he ran and began shooting at the officers and a police vehicle. After a pursuit, the individual was wounded and later pronounced dead. The full report by the Indiana State Police is expected to be released this week. After the release, the city will work with the Porter County Sheriff and Valparaiso Police Chief to formally recognize our public safety professionals and these officers’ bravery at our May 28th meeting.
“They put their lives on the line, protecting our city without hesitation, and deserve nothing less than our full support and gratitude. Public safety is the foremost responsibility of government, and make no mistake, public safety is No. 1 here in Valparaiso.
“I speak for the entire council when I say that we need to focus on supporting our first responders and unite as a city. We understand there are diverse perspectives that need to be heard and considered, and we are committed to listening. But for now, our focus is on the community we serve and the debt we owe to the men and women of the Porter County Sheriff’s Department, the Valparaiso Police Department and our first responders.”
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Becky Laughner, vice chair of the Valparaiso Democratic Committee, was one of the people who spoke in support of Cotton. Among those speaking against Cotton’s comments and asking him to resign as council president was Joseph Cowser, vice president of FOP Lodge 76.
The next Valparaiso City Council meeting is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28.
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
