Artesia Football Coach Found Not Guilty of Battery
Associated Press
ROSWELL — A judge has acquitted Artesia High School athletic director and football coach Cooper Henderson, who was accused of battery against a student who was tossed out of a basketball game.
Roswell Municipal Judge Larry Loy found Henderson not guilty of the battery charge after listening to about an hour-and-a-half of testimony Tuesday.
Henderson said he was pleased "that the independent witnesses and the court confirmed my original statement that there was no, absolutely no, basis to the charges."
Michael Perez was one of three students removed from the stands by security officers during a March 1 game in Roswell between Artesia and Goddard.
"I have to determine, 'Was this done in a rude or insolent manner?' I do not fell like it was," Loy said.
Perez's mother, Yolanda Perez, said in a criminal complaint she "heard Cooper Henderson yelling at the boys and he grabbed my son Michael by his jersey and pull him up in his face."
Mike Phipps, the superintendent of Artesia's public school district, has said the boys were yelling obscenities.
Yolanda Perez contended her son never used foul language.
Doug Jones Witt, Henderson's attorney, said the verdict "is a victory for common sense and for all school personnel who face tough choices every day in keeping order at our schools and monitoring the safety of our children."
Henderson has coached football at Artesia for 19 seasons, winning 11 state championships.
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