Suicide Taunt Sparks Dog Park Fight, Police Say

A verbal argument between dog owners led to battery and criminal damages charges against a 42-year-old man who police said grabbed a woman’s sunglasses off her head and threw them.

were called to around 8:45 a.m. July 27. According to the report, the woman pushed her dog away from playing with another patron’s dog.

The woman and patron were both yelling at each other, when a man identified as Brian T. Cottrell, of Richmond, TX, reportedly stood up and yelled at the woman to control her dog.

Police said the woman yelled back and that Cottrell got into the woman’s face. Both were yelling profanities at each other when Cottrell insulted the woman’s family, reports said.

After Cottrell started insulting the woman’s family, police said she commented on Cottrell’s wife’s suicide. Cottrell allegedly placed his face several inches from her nose and said, “I’m going to rip your head off.”

Police said Cottrell then grabbed the woman’s sunglasses off her head and threw them, causing them to break. The woman called 911.

According to the report, Cottrell told police he came to the patron’s aid because the woman was yelling and being aggressive. He got in between them in an attempt to defuse the situation.

Cottrell allegedly admitted to police that both he and the woman were yelling and swearing at other. He walked away but when the woman made a second insult about his wife, he lost his temper and grabbed her sunglasses, police said.

Police said that Cottrell insisted he never touched the woman’s head, only her sunglasses.

The woman told police that she knows Cottrell and the patrons from prior incidents at the dog park, and believed they would lie to police to support Cottrell. The woman’s son also corroborated his mother's story, reports said.

Both patrons gave a similar statement to police, saying the woman was the original aggressor, but that Cottrell did grab her sunglasses. The patrons told police that the is aware of the woman because there have been complaints about her and her aggressive dog, police said.

After interviewing all of the parties involved, police said the woman was adamant about signing complaints for battery and criminal damages against Cottrell. Police said the woman could tell them how much her sunglasses cost.

Cottrell has a court appearance on Sept. 7.