Manhattan Beach police officer pleads not guilty in hit-and-run case
A Manhattan beach police officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a hit-and-run charge, authorities said.
Richard William Hatten II, 35, is charged with one misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. An attorney entered the plea on behalf of Hatten, who is expected to be booked Thursday at the East Los Angeles sheriff's station.
The charges stem from an incident last January that resulted in four officers being placed on leave after allegedly failing to report a hit-and-run accident caused by a vehicle registered to Hatten.
Officers arrived at the accident scene and found that the driver suspected of causing the crash had fled. The driver's unoccupied vehicle was found later at a nearby gasoline station, the Manhattan Beach Police Department said in a statement issued shortly after the incident.
The officers conducted a registration check, which showed that the owner was a Manhattan Beach police officer. No report was taken and no arrests were made, the department said.
On Wednesday, the district attorney's office released a charge-evaluation worksheet saying that two officers were passengers in Hatten's car. The officers violated no laws and did nothing to encourage Hatten to leave his vehicle, according to the report.
"Therefore," the report said, "we are declining to file charges against these individuals."
Manhattan Beach police officers placed on leave amid hit-and-run investigation
-- Robert J. Lopez
EDITOR'S PICKS:
Geez, what is the world coming to. Average Joe is expected to run after an accident. But, a police officer is not well taken................I hope that this fool gets canned.
Posted by: geo88a | January 19, 2011 at 05:20 PM
They are 'guilty' of obstructing JUSTICE !! Doesn't ANYONE in the DA's office read the statutes ?
Posted by: Tony ( aka Brains) | January 19, 2011 at 05:53 PM
Here we go again! The cop double standard. Thank god this guy and his two cop buddies have HUGE SALARIES and PENSIONS and can RETIRE at 55.
This just goes to show how cops don't follow the law. What makes you think they won't shoot and kill you?
Let me tell you what I think. These cops were drunk and the guy driving was drunk driving. Sure, none of the other law abiding cops in the car did anything to stop their drunkard cop buddy from driving. Nice cops, eh. Had it been a regular person, you can bet they would have thrown then in jail. Second, take a look at how long it took for the DA to press charges, a WHOLE YEAR! Plus, the cop who arrived at the scene, did not even make a report. So it's almost like it did not happen because now the DA has hardly anything to go on and press charges in a timely manner. Nice work there cops. Glad to see you uphold a double standard and let your criminal cops buddies off with no consequences. The sheer arrogance of your impunity to break the law and abuse people you come in contact with is incredible. Cops are nothing but thugs and cowards hiding behind a badge who only had to meet minimal (what like 6 weeks) educational requirements. We are paying too much to people who do not appreciate us and abuse us.
It is time to get rid of the over paid cops with the sweet pension and early retirement and replace them with people who want to do the job to help society and not become a burden to us. Cops and Firefighters are going to sink this state unless we re-negotiate the contracts and tell them to take it or leave it. There are many other people in line to do this job at less pay.
Posted by: clem | January 19, 2011 at 06:01 PM
Gee, if I didn't know better, I'd say this sounds just like the "stuff" that goes on in the Pasadena Police Department. I guess birds of a feather apparently do flock together....
Posted by: USC Trojans Fan | January 19, 2011 at 07:32 PM
Kudos to the DA's office for filing criminal charges on the driver officer.
The real question is how will Manhattan Beach PD deal with the driver who was charged with hit and run and more importantly, the passenger officers who did not come forward to report the crime.
Posted by: u know | January 19, 2011 at 08:42 PM
Saw an LAPD motorcycle cop make righteous illegal U-turn in a commercial district during rush hour the other day. I was hoping he would come into the Mexican restaurant I was eating in so I could mouth off to him. He went into Boston Market instead. Lucky for you officer scofflaw!
Posted by: Dean McAdams | January 19, 2011 at 09:59 PM
As a Police Officer, these stories always piss me off. It's guys like these that give the rest of us bad names. Despite what others say, the DA cannot charge the passengers and no they would not have been arrested if they were citizen public. However, they did violate the law enforcement code of ethics. And I'm sure they will be fired for it. Our department just fired one for lieing to his Sergeant. Believe it or not, 99% of cops are out doing the right thing. It's the 1% that gives the rest of us a bad name. And as far as the pension, only 3% of cops actually survive their careers to retirement. Most go out on permanent injuries they sustain serving and saving others, unless they are killed in the line of duty protecting citizens like clem.
Posted by: Ocifer | January 26, 2011 at 03:42 PM