PASADENA : Former Chief Did Beat Girlfriend, Lawyer Alleges
An attorney for a woman who recanted allegations that former Pasadena Police Chief Jerry A. Oliver repeatedly beat her while he was chief said Wednesday the allegations are true.
Joe Hopkins, the lawyer for Oliver’s onetime girlfriend, Katrina Hammonds, also said his client will be talking with prosecutors soon.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is conducting a criminal investigation into allegations that Oliver physically abused Hammonds at least seven times in 1993 and 1994, including one incident that required her to seek medical attention. After first making the allegations to Pasadena police in June, Hammonds later recanted them because she reportedly was afraid of Oliver and did not want to tarnish his career.
Oliver, well known for championing community policing and Pasadena’s ammunition-registration law, has denied the allegations. He left last month to become police chief in Richmond, Va.
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