Today, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced Kenneth P. Cotter, prosecuting attorney of St. Joseph County would be taking over in the Aaron Bailey case.
Cotter, who served as deputy prosecuting attorney for 20 years, took over as St. Joseph’s prosecutor in January of 2015.
Of today’s announcement, Curry stated several factors were considered in the decision making process, including the office’s current investigation into the shooting death of Lt. Aaron Allan.
“Someone suggested that the perception of the public is perhaps often more important than reality,” he said. “If there are individuals in the public that perceive that the police agency or the prosecutor’s office could not be fair and impartial, the fact that a police agency or a prosecutor could do so is not controlled.”
“This is definitely step one,” said Satchuel Cole vice president of local activist organization DON’T SLEEP. The group has organized several actions, asking members of the community to call Curry’s office to make this recommendation. “We’re very happy that we got the special prosecutor. Step two is to fire these officers, step three charge these officers.”
This story will be updated.
