Most of the Westover Police Department’s cruisers and two doors at the city municipal building were damaged on Monday morning and the man accused of doing it was released on a personal recognizance bond.
Michael Cotterall Jr., 29, of Westover, is charged with felony destruction of property. According to a criminal complaint, a Westover officer saw him jumping on the hoods of cruisers and kicking in the windshields.
“It’s very disappointing to see him get released on personal recognizance,” Westover Police Chief Joe Adams said. “Guy comes in here, jumps on five cruisers, kicks the windshields out of five cruisers, kicks the glass out two city hall glass doors and the magistrate PR’s him.”
Magistrate Todd Gaujot said he had a long conversation with Cotterall and explained he had several reasons for releasing him.
Gaujot said he talked about his own experience getting to know uniformed police officers and how much respect he has for them.
“I had a meeting of the minds with this guy and I thought that we were on the same page and he got it and I feel like maybe he appreciates law enforcement, which includes me you know, a little differently now,” Gaujot said. “And I kinda wanted to make a point that ‘hey, we’re not here, law enforcement’s not here to screw people over, they’re good guys,’ and this was an extension of that good will of that good faith.”
Gaujot said he wasn’t trying to blow it off like it wasn’t a big deal but that he wanted to teach Cotterall something. He added if the conversation and nature of the connection was different, the bond might have been set differently.
He also said a job is the cornerstone of making sure someone stays on the right path and critical to making sure the department gets restitution. Had he sent Cotterall to jail he likely would have lost his job.
“I think he was all roughed up,” Gautjot said. “He’d taken some knocks. I mean his face was all swollen and I was kinda like ‘yikes,’ that he’d kinda done his, he’d paid for that.”
Adams said Cotterall had to be tased twice and tackled to get him under control, but he wasn’t roughed up. He sent The Dominion Post Cotterall’s booking photo, which shows a lump on his forehead and a bruise on one cheek.
Adams said the department still has three undamaged cruisers and will make do until the others are fixed, which should happen by the end of the week. The costs will likely be around $4,000.
The municipal building doors, which are made of the same shatterproof glass as windshields, will probably cost about $1,000 to repair, Adams said.
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