Chalaiyah Cooper, 23, faces multiple charges after a fight at Bud’s Rockin Country Bar in Evansville. The allegations include damage to a police transport wagon and kicks directed at officers as they tried to secure her, while accounts differ over how the initial fight began.
According to 14news.com, an off-duty officer working security at the bar on West Franklin Street saw two women fighting near an outside fence at about 2:30 a.m. and pulled Cooper away from the other woman.
The accounts of how the altercation started conflict. Cooper told officers the other woman hit her first and tried to take her phone inside the bar, according to the report. The other woman said Cooper ran up and pulled her hair as she was leaving; a witness also told police that Cooper attacked first.
Struggle Escalates Inside the Transport Wagon
Police said Cooper removed her seatbelt after being placed in the transport wagon and broke off a divider inside it. Officers took her back out of the vehicle to address the damage, according to the station’s report.
As officers tried to put Cooper back in the wagon, police said, she pulled away and kicked two officers. The report did not say whether either officer was injured.
Charges and Booking
Cooper was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail on two counts of battery against a public safety official, along with resisting law enforcement and assault, according to the report. The Indiana General Assembly publishes statutes addressing battery against a public safety official and resisting law enforcement. A separate Indiana General Assembly statute addresses conduct that forcibly resists, obstructs or interferes with a law enforcement officer; the available reporting does not explain how the statutes apply to Cooper’s case.
Other reported Evansville cases involved different circumstances
Local reports have described separate cases involving allegations against officers during an arrest. In August 2022, Tri-State Homepage (WEHT) reported that police accused Jamesha Elbert of trying to kick officers after a fight; she was detained at a Casey’s gas station and later taken to a hospital. In a separate October 2023 case, WEHT reported that Elbert kicked an officer’s computer while being secured in a backseat and later spat on another officer during booking. That report described an arrest involving a felony warrant, not Cooper’s bar fight and transport-wagon allegations.
No further details on Cooper’s bond, attorney or upcoming court dates have been reported.
