West Hartford Man Accused of Harassing Former ESPN Anchor: Police Report

A Richard Street man with a history of arrests is accused of harassing former ESPN anchor Michelle Bonner in several incidents, including “boxing in” her car during pickup at a West Hartford elementary school.

Edward Cooper, 42, of 120 Richard Street, was charged last month with second-degree breach of peace for several incidents that occurred at Smith STEM School involving Bonner. He has since been banned from the school property.

Bonner told police that the incidents began after she believed Cooper’s wife was angry with her because she didn’t offer her a ride on a school field trip (their children are in the same class). Bonner accepted a ride from another mother and had heard Cooper’s wife was angry with her.

After that incident, Bonner found nearly 100 roofing screws and nails in her driveway on Jan. 16 (the day of the field trip), many directly behind the tires of her vehicle, and contacted police.

Police asked Bonner if she knew of anyone who could be angry with her and if she knew anyone who was a roofer. While Bonner had never met Edward Cooper, she learned that he worked as a roofer and police identified him as a suspect.

Bonner found roofing screws and nails behind her tires on two other occasions, Jan. 18 and Jan. 22.

While there wasn’t proof that Cooper was responsible for placing the screws and nails in the driveway, police opened the case and alerted school officials to the growing tension between Bonner and the Coopers and a safety plan was put in place after the second nail incident, according to the police report.

Arrangements were made for drop-off and pickup for the parties to avoid interacting with each other. The school’s security guard was also contacted and would have a higher level of presence during drop-off and pickup as part of the safety plan.

But there was a confrontation on the playground after school on Jan. 23 and words were exchanged on both sides, according to the report.

There was another incident on Jan. 26 when Edward Cooper allegedly confronted Bonner outside the school during an early dismissal. Cooper had been accused of making comments toward Bonner and her son and the school security guard was closely monitoring the situation.

Following those incidents, Bonner feared for her safety and police instituted a “no contact” policy between the Coopers and Bonner on Jan. 28.

The next day, police officers made contact with Edward Cooper outside of Smith School after he dropped his daughter off and Cooper was immediately defensive and told police they “may as well arrest him now,” but didn’t specify what for, according to the arrest warrant.

Cooper then paced back and forth, clenching his fists and saying that when he “flips out” he will call police to take him away in cuffs, according to the warrant.

Cooper said that where he’s from in Bridgeport, if someone has a problem with someone else, they just punch them in the face and move on, according to the warrant.

The officer advised Cooper that that’s not how it works at an elementary school and police were trying to find a more peaceful resolution in the school environment.

Cooper’s prior arrests include second-degree assault, third-degree assault, first-degree robbery, possession of a weapon on school grounds, criminal possession of a firearm, reckless endangerment, interfering/resisting arrest, second-degree breach of peace, first-degree larceny, second-degree larceny, and unlawful award of public assistance benefits, according to the arrest warrant.

On Feb. 10, Bonner and a friend were picking up their sons from school following their new routine of waiting between 5-7 minutes inside the school before exiting in an attempt to avoid seeing Cooper.

But on that day, they saw Cooper standing in the walkway outside facing in their general direction and they had to walk in the snow to get by him (the walkway was narrow due to the amount of snow on the ground) on their way to the car, according to the report.

As they were buckling the children in, Bonner saw Cooper’s car right up against her vehicle. Cooper allegedly stopped his car 1 to 2 inches from Bonner’s, with the passenger side front window lining up (parallel) to her driver’s side window, the report states.

There were vehicles parked in front and to the rear of her, so Bonner was “boxed” in and unable to get out.

Cooper allegedly kept the vehicle blocked for 20-30 seconds, before slowly moving his car forward, taking about 7-8 seconds, then sped off.

Following that incident, police informed Cooper that he was no longer allowed on school grounds and a warrant for his arrest was served on Feb. 23.

Bonner, who worked as a TV anchor/reporter for 20 years and most recently at ESPN from 2005 to 2012, has since gotten a restraining order against Cooper.

However, she said “no arrest or restraining order is ever going to make me feel completely safe.”

And she doesn’t know when, or if, her life will return to normal.

“What is normal after something like this happens?,” Bonner told Patch.com. “I still stop on the street every time I return home to see if more roofing nails have been dumped in my driveway. I don’t know when I’ll ever stop doing that or constantly checking out my windows. But I am so grateful there is a resolution and I can’t thank the West Hartford Police and our principal and staff at Smith STEM School enough for their incredible efforts to keep the entire school community safe.”

Edward Cooper, 42, was arrested on a warrant Feb. 23/ West Hartford Police Department photo