Police investigating claim that school board member tried to hit colleague with car
The Bradenton Police Department is investigating allegations that Manatee County School Board member Dave Miner tried to run over fellow School Board member Scott Hopes with his car last week.
The investigation stems from an incident that occurred after the Feb. 27 school board meeting in the parking lot outside the Manatee County School District administration building at 215 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton. Hopes and Miner had an argument that escalated after the meeting.
Hopes has accused Miner of attempting to run him over, but Miner said he was just trying to pull away from the parking lot, but Hopes kept approaching his car.
On Tuesday, Hopes officially filed a report with the Bradenton Police Department, he said. Spokesman Lt. Brian Thiers confirmed the department is investigating the incident, and interviewing all those involved.
“I hope this is a learning experience for him that he can’t behave this way,” Hopes said at the Excellence in Education Awards ceremony Wednesday night at Manatee Technical College. “It has to come to an end. We are in a place to do the people’s business, and that kind of behavior in the board room, or outside of it, is unacceptable.”
The Manatee County School District has refused to comment on the incident. A public record’s request for footage from their surveillance video system capturing the incident has also been denied, citing that the footage is not public record under state statute because it reveals their security system’s capabilities and vulnerabilities.
A clip of the footage, however, was obtained and published by Bay News 9, a newsgathering partner of the Bradenton Herald.
The clip shows Hopes attempting to approach Miner’s car as Miner is pulling out of the parking lot. The car stops multiple times close to Hopes as Miner pulls away.
Jessica De Leon: 941-745-7049, @JDeLeon1012
This story was originally published March 7, 2018 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Police investigating claim that school board member tried to hit colleague with car."