Fired Manhattan Beach cop asks judge to reverse dismissal
Former Manhattan Beach Police Officer Eric Eccles, who was fired in March of 2011 for his involvement in an off-duty hit-and-run traffic accident, has asked a judge to reverse his termination, claiming that the “penalty is excessive” and was an “abuse of discretion,” according to court documents filed on Aug. 20. In documents filed by his attorney Bill Seki, Eccles asks that the city reimburse him for lost wages, reinstate his position, and remove and seal all records relating to his termination from his personnel file. City Attorney Quinn Barrow said he’d not yet been served or seen the petition. When the city is served, it will have 30 days to prepare a response. “At this point we’re going to vigorously defend this action, and we’re confident that the city’s decision was correct,” Barrow said. On Jan. 31, 2010, Eccles and former officer Kristopher Thompson were passengers in a car collision in which the driver, fellow off-duty police officer Richard Hatten, failed to stop at the scene. The incident cost the three officers their jobs. In December, Eccles and Thompson were granted an arbitration hearing, during which a judge looked at the evidence to decide whether the officers…
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