The city has notified four Manhattan Beach police officers that they will be fired for their involvement in an off-duty, hit-and-run accident that occurred Jan. 31, 2010, sources told Easy Reader this week.
Officers Eric Eccles, Richard Hatten, Kristopher Thompson and Lt. Bryan Klatt were informed last Thursday by MBPD Police Chief Rod Uyeda of their termination from the department, sources said.
Uyeda sent out a prepared statement to his department last week confirming disciplinary action, but stating that he could not comment on the matter pursuant to laws pertaining to personnel matters.
“I know that a lot of rumors and unease may be spreading throughout the organization at the present time over an investigation that has dragged on for over a year,” the statement read. “We knew this day would come and now it is here. …Incidents like this tend to tear organizations apart, with some people taking sides and having conflicting opinions on the issues.”
Uyeda would not comment further on the matter.
As with any disciplinary action in the department, each officer is entitled to pre-disciplinary hearing, often called a Skelly Hearing, which is generally completed within 10 days to two weeks after notice is given.
The possible terminations came after the completion of two investigations conducted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department into a Jan. 31 alleged hit-and-run cover-up involving three off-duty Manhattan Beach Police officers and a fourth investigating officer.
Neither the Sheriff’s Department nor the MBPD would discuss details of the case. City attorney Robert Wadden said that penal codes offer police officers very strong privacy protection regarding personnel matters.
According to sources, Eccles, Hatten and Thompson were off-duty drinking at Grunion’s Sports Bar on Sepulveda Boulevard before they got into Hatten’s Corvette, which became involved in a crash with two other cars. Shortly after the incident, Uyeda said that the accident may have involved an intoxicated driver who left the scene. The damaged Corvette was later found unattended parked at a nearby gas station, said sources familiar with the case.
After the incident, the three officers were placed on leave. MBPD Officer Jeff Goodrich, who responded to the scene, was also placed on administrative leave. Sources said Goodrich did not take a report. He died of cancer in September. Klatt was the watch commander on duty when the incident occurred and allegedly did not immediately report it to department officials.
At the completion of a criminal investigation in January, Hatten, 36, was charged with a misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of a car accident. He entered a “not guilty” plea at his arraignment and his next court proceeding was scheduled for last Thursday at Superior Court in Torrance.
Uyeda called the separate internal affairs investigation that was since completed by the Sheriff’s Department “completely objective” and said there could be no claims that results were manipulated.
“It is what it is and the facts were reached by a team of very experienced investigators,” he said. “The investigation was reviewed by the highest levels of the Sheriffs’ Department before sending it on to us.”
“As with all disciplinary issues involving police personnel, we will hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity while we continue to work hard to earn the public’s trust,” he added.
The city’s Human Resources Dept. said Tuesday that all four officers remain on paid administrative leave. ER
