Buffalo high school break-in was apparently an inside job

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Bennett High School on Main Street in North Buffalo. Photo by Garrett Looker.

The sons of Buffalo school board president Sharon Belton-Cottman broke into Bennett High School last Tuesday, according to a Buffalo police incident report. 

Khalil and Jamaal Cottman — both coaches at Bennett last year — entered the school through a rear window after one of the men climbed over a gate, according to the report. After entering the school, one of the brothers opened a door to allow unknown individuals to enter. The group then went to the gymnasium and stayed for three hours before leaving, the report said. 

There is video of the incident, according to the report.

Jamaal Cottman was misidentified in the report as “Jalil.” Jeffrey Hammond, Buffalo Public Schools director of public relations and information, confirmed the identities of both brothers. 

The two Cottmans are employees of Buffalo Public Schools, but currently do not work at Bennett High School, according to Hammond. Khalil, 39, was head coach of the boys varsity basketball team last year. Jamaal, 42, was an assistant coach.

The Cottmans “were in the gymnasium of the school conducting an unauthorized basketball practice,” according to Hammond. 

The school district filed a police report the following day in “accordance with district protocol … regarding the alleged trespassing,” Hammond said in a statement. 

The complaint was filed by Bennett High School’s principal, Carlos Alvarez. The school district declined to press charges, according to the police report.

“As there was no damage to the school and, thankfully, no one was harmed, the district’s human resources department is conducting an internal investigation and will take the appropriate action. Because it is a personnel matter, the district is unable to comment further at this time,” Hammond said.

Khalil Cottman, reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, said he was “taken aback” by the existence of the police report.

“That is all news to me,” he said, adding that he had not had a chance to look at a copy of the report he’d asked Investigative Post to email to him. 

Cottman said he’d been teaching computer science and coaching basketball and soccer at Bennett for “about eight years.” He said over the past six years the soccer and basketball teams have held workouts and practices during the summer months on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

“What we do, we try to provide a venue for our students, to have somewhere safe that they can g0,” he said.

Asked if he and his brother accessed the gym on Aug. 13 by climbing a fence and entering a window, he said that would be “nothing out of protocol … nothing that’s uncommon.”

He referred any further questions to Buffalo Teachers Federation President Rich Nigro and Superintendent Tonja Williams.

Nigro could not be reached for comment, but BTF Vice President Melinda MacPherson-Sullivan said the issue hadn’t been brought to her attention.

“It’s the first I’m hearing of it,” she said. “I don’t know what to say … I don’t have all the facts on that.”

School Board President Sharon Belton-Cottman did not reply to an email and her voicemail was full. Belton-Cottman has represented the Ferry District on the board since 2011, when she was appointed to fill a vacancy, and has since won four three-year terms. She was elected board president in January, a position she has held twice before. She narrowly lost a bid for the Masten District Common Council seat in 2015.

In 2023, Khalil Cottman earned $105,912, according to state payroll records. He was one of several applicants who in 2018 said they’d been denied appointments to the city’s police and fire academies because a psychological exam administered to candidates was racist. 

In February his mother named him to a committee charged with reviewing school board district boundaries in response to the 2020 Census.

Investigative Post was unsuccessful in finding contact or salary information for Jamaal Cottman. 

When first asked for an incident report, the Buffalo Police Department provided only a log entry indicating a burglary report had been filed. The department subsequently released the complete incident report in response to a Freedom of Information request. 

Police spokesman Mike DeGeorge did not respond to emails, texts or phone calls.

Garrett Looker