IU professor to appear in Monroe court

Near Eastern Languages & Culture professor Martha P. Vinson will appear in Monroe County court today on charges of criminal recklessness and resisting law enforcement. Judge Elizabeth Mann will preside in the Division IV courtroom.\nOn July 18, one of Vinson's neighbors filed a complaint with the Bloomington Police Department claiming Vinson drove her car recklessly toward her, according to court records. \nWhile retrieving her mail, the neighbor said a blue Honda came toward her. She fearfully and hurriedly returned to her vehicle in order to evade the Honda because she had a small child in her car. As the neighbor left her house, the suspect continued to follow her around the neighborhood, the report said.\nWhile discussing the original complaint with the woman, additional neighbors approached the police officer with more stories of reckless driving. \nOther neighbors said they were walking through the neighborhood and Vinson appeared to be steering her vehicle toward them, the report continued. \nAfter investigation, the BPD filed a probable cause affidavit with the prosecutor's office, who then issued a warrant for criminal recklessness, BPD Capt. Joe Qualters said.\nBPD arrived at Vinson's home on July 23 to arrest her, Qualters said. She was not at home. \nAs the officers were leaving, Vinson pulled up in her car. The officers told her they wanted to speak with her and in response, she asked if she could pull her vehicle into her garage. After she did so, Vinson tried to lower the garage door as a barrier between her and the officers, Qualters said.\nThe officers proceeded to tell Vinson to get out of her car and she tried to put it in reverse to get away. As she was doing so, another car pulled into her driveway to block Vinson's vehicle. She then got out of the car, but passively resisted arrest by not cooperating with officers and not walking to the squad car, Qualters said.\nVinson is scheduled to appear in court today for a pre-trial hearing. The pre-trial hearing is the preliminary hearing to make Vinson aware of the charges against her. A trial date will also be set. \nCollege of Arts and Sciences Executive Assistant Dean David Zaret would not comment on the situation, citing privacy matters.\nDean of Faculties Moya Andrews said Vinson is currently on medical leave for personal reasons. Since the spring, the University granted Vinson leave so she could have time to recover. As of a week ago, Andrews said Vinson was progressing well in her recovery.\n"I'm really concerned about her and I wouldn't want anything to interfere with her recovery," Andrews said.\n-- Contact staff writer Julia Blanford at jblanfor@indiana.edu.