Emanuel Tells Jury He ‘Instinctively’ Hit Hatfield Back

Aaron Emanuel testified in his own defense Wednesday and told of being “hit hard” by Sharon Hatfield at a party and reacting “instinctively” by hitting her back.

Emanuel’s misdemeanor trial, which is being heard in Pasadena Municipal Court, went into its third day with more graphic testimony about the two incidents in which Emanuel allegedly struck Hatfield and Tammy Baird, both former USC students.

Emanuel, 20, a sophomore tailback for USC last season, is charged with battery and serious bodily injury in connection with the alleged attack on Hatfield, 23, at a party May 3. He is also charged with misdemeanor battery in connection with the alleged incident involving Baird, 23, at a bar Dec. 18.

Emanuel told the jury of nine women and three men that he and his roommate, Leroy Holt, a running back at USC, attended a party May 3 in an unincorporated area known as Chapman Woods, between Arcadia and San Marino. Emanuel testified that Holt had an angry exchange with Hatfield, and Holt told him that Hatfield was angry.

Emanuel said that as he was leaving the party, he pinched Hatfield on the buttocks to get her attention. He said he intended to clear the air between Hatfield and Holt.

He testified that Hatfield then screamed at him, threw beer at him and struck him with her left fist.

He said he struck her as a quick reaction and in self-defense.

“The only thing that I thought was that I was hit very hard,” Emanuel said. “I didn’t think it was a woman. I just knew I was hurt. It was an instinctive reaction. After, I felt bad that I had hit a young lady.”

Hatfield was a heptathlete on the USC women’s track team, and defense attorney Lawrence Elkins has attempted to establish that Hatfield was strong enough to cause Emanuel to fear for his safety.

Regarding the alleged incident with Baird at the 502 Club near the USC campus, Emanuel denied much of what Baird and others said he did.

Baird testified that Emanuel struck her and slapped her at the door of the club. Emanuel said he never saw Baird at the door and never struck her. “I have never once touched the flesh of her body,” he said.

In earlier testimony Wednesday, the defense produced witnesses in the Hatfield case who either testified that Hatfield hit Emanuel or who said they had no knowledge that she did.

Wendy Green, USC athletic department receptionist who was the hostess of the party, testified that she saw Hatfield lying on the floor and that Emanuel said to her, “ ‘I’m sorry, Wendy. I didn’t know if it was a guy or a girl. I was reacting to a punch with a punch.’ ”

Green also said she felt Emanuel’s jaw, where Hatfield allegedly punched him, and the jaw seemed swollen.

Two other witnesses said they saw Hatfield punch Emanuel that night. Alex Stewart, a defensive tackle on the USC football team, testified that he saw Emanuel pinch Hatfield’s buttocks, causing her to use profanity. Stewart said Hatfield then threw beer at Emanuel with her right hand and struck him with her left.

Holt testified that he and Hatfield engaged in a verbal exchange minutes before Hatfield’s confrontation with Emanuel and that Hatfield used sexually suggestive language with him.

“It seemed to me (that) the whole night she was kind of bugged,” Holt said, referring to Hatfield’s state of mind at the party.

Holt testified that he had seen Emanuel pinch Hatfield but said it was intended to get her attention. Holt said he heard Hatfield swear at Emanuel and then saw her punch him.

Both witnesses said they saw Hatfield strike Emanuel with her left hand. Defense attorney Elkins, in his opening remarks to the jury, had described Hatfield’s alleged punch as “a right cross.” Hatfield is right-handed.

Prosecution witnesses in the Baird case have testified that both Emanuel and Holt teased and taunted Baird, both on campus and off. Holt testified Wednesday that he didn’t know Baird and that he and Emanuel never said derisive things to her.

He said that on the night of Dec. 18 at the 502 Club, he called Baird “pancake face” but that it was the first time he had ever done that.

Holt also contradicted the testimony of Baird and others by saying that Emanuel had never struck Baird while she was standing in the doorway of the club.

Emanuel has been suspended from school for a year by a USC administrative review panel and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and undergo psychiatric treatment once a month while serving the suspension. Emanuel said that if he fulfills the counseling requirements, the suspension will be reduced to one semester.

Of the counts, the more serious charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in county jail. The lesser charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in county jail, a $2,000 fine, or both.