Water polo star claims innocence
By Tom Harshbarger
Daily Forty-Niner
A 49er water polo player pleaded not guilty
in Long Beach Municipal Court on Thursday to resisting arrest and remaining
at the scene of a riot, the Long Beach City prosecutorís office said.
Patrick Cochran, a senior driver for Cal
State Long Beach, was among 10 people arrested Sept. 23 after police received
complaints about a late-night party at 3635 Ocean Blvd., said David Marander,
a Long Beach Police Department public information officer.
Cochran was released on $1,000 bail shortly
after the arrest, according to court records. Cochranís pretrial hearing
will begin Oct. 26, said Laura White of the Long Beach City Prosecutorís
office.
Five officers were injured when partygoers
attacked them during the arrest, Marander said. In all, police arrested
10 on charges ranging from battery of an officer to misdemeanor drug possession.
Cochran was not one of the people who attacked police, Marander said.
Cochran said his lawyer advised him not
to comment on the case.
CSULB Head Coach Ricardo Azevedo said he
did not suspend Cochran, after talking to police as well as his parents,
due to the minor nature of the incident. He added that Cochran did not
violate team or NCAA rules. Cochran played for Azevedo when he coached
at Wilson High School.
Cochran is originally from Long Beach,
graduating from Wilson in 1995.
Cochran transferred to CSULB last year
after three years at UC Berkeley, where he was an All-American honorable
mention in 1995, his freshman year.
"Pat was a very nice young man," said Peter
Asch, head water polo coach at Cal. "He fit in very well with our team.
We never had any problems with him here." |
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