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Alderman charged with assault

Posted on September 13, 2007 by Staff

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

A confrontation with a cross-country race volunteer at Hank Anderson Park Wednesday evening resulted in misdemeanor charges of assault with a deadly weapon against Carrboro Board of Alderman Dan Coleman.

Coleman allegedly bumped his car into the legs of Amanda Kotecki, who was holding traffic back at a crosswalk while cross-country runners passed through the park’s parking lot at about 5:30 p.m.
Witnesses said that Coleman, who was taking his son to a baseball practice at the park, was upset that traffic was being held up. He attempted to pass through the crosswalk, but was stopped by Kotecki.

Coleman, who was appointed to the board in 2006, is running this year to retain his seat. He issued a statement saying that his account of the incident and Kotecki’s differ and that he looks forward to “resolving this disagreement as amicably as possible.”

He also said he hopes the incident does not become a part of the campaign discussion.

“Such incidents are always difficult, all the more so during a campaign. I deeply regret any distress this has caused for anyone,” Coleman’s statement reads in part. “However, this is a personal, not a political, matter. It would be a disservice to the people of Carrboro if this became a subject of the campaign, given the many important issues facing our town.”

Gary Harden, whose son  was a participant in the cross-country event, said he was in the first car on the opposite side of the crosswalk when he noticed the driver of the first car on the other side was getting agitated about the wait as runners passed through the crosswalk.

“The volunteer was holding out her hands and he moved forward and bumped her legs,” Harden, who later realized that the driver was Coleman, said. “She put her hands on the hood of his car and then he moved forward and did it again.”

Harden said he then noticed that Coleman was on the phone.

In a recording of a 911 call placed by Coleman at the time, the alderman is heard repeatedly asking Kotecki to get out of the way and asks the dispatcher to send a police officer to the park.

An officer responded and interviewed Kotecki and Coleman, but did not arrest Coleman.

Carrboro Police Captain Joel Booker said that he and Carrboro Police Chief Carolyn Hutchinson reviewed the incident and determined that the officer correctly followed procedure. Although the department has been criticized for not making an immediate arrest, Booker said the officer followed the law since he did not witness the incident and the alleged victim was not injured. He would not have been allowed to make the arrest under the circumstances, Booker said.

Under North Carolina law, he said, there are very few instances in which officers can make a misdemeanor arrest when they have not directly witnessed the actions. That decision is usually left up to the magistrate, who also sets bail and terms of release, if any.

Booker said that a charge of misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon rather than a felony charge of the crime is issued when the alleged victim is not injured and there was not an intent to kill.

After the incident, Kotecki testified before magistrate John Maddry, who found probable cause to issue an arrest warrant for Coleman. Coleman turned himself in at the Carrboro Police headquarters on Greensboro Street Thursday morning. He was released on a promise to appear. A court date has been set for October 18.

Harden said that he has attended several cross-country events at the park and has never seen an incident such as the one on Wednesday. He said Kotecki did the right thing since there were a large number of runners in the race and there was not sufficient space between groups of runners to let traffic through.

“At no point was there time for cars to pass through,” he said. Traffic, he said, was held up for about five minutes.

Harden said the incident was upsetting, especially because Coleman had a child in the car with him.
“He had a complete disregard for everyone around him,” Harden said. “It was obvious that he was in a big hurry, but we were stopped for five minutes. He was not held up for long.”

Kotecki did not return calls seeking comment.

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