Felony charge dropped against SLO County man who drew bayonet at City Council meeting
The man who drew a bayonet at a Morro Bay City Council meeting last week no longer faces a felony charge for the incident.
Kiernan Cottle, 28, unsheathed a 20-inch-long World War II bayonet while he spoke during public comment on Jan. 28.
The blade, which attaches to the end of a rifle for hand-to-hand fighting, belonged to his grandfather, a decorated World War II veteran, he said.
“I do not know how many of our brothers lost their lives to this blade on the banks of the Rhine, but it would not have been many — as Grandpa was a sharpshooter,” he said. “Grandpa committed unforgivable sins to defend the world against a madness that nearly destroyed the very land that gave rise to it.”
After his speech, Cottle left the meeting without incident.
The Morro Bay Police Department arrested him on Wednesday on suspicion of felony possession of a knife longer than 4 inches in a public building and misdemeanor vandalism that resulted in less than $400 of damage, according to San Luis Obispo County Superior Court records.
Cottle was then booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on Wednesday.
The felony charge was dismissed before Cottle’s court hearing on Friday, according to court records. He pled no contest to the vandalism charges, the record said.
Cottle was no longer in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail as of Tuesday, according to the Sheriff’s booking log.
