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L.A. Officer Who Struck Man Fired

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Times Staff Writer

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton fired an officer Friday who was videotaped striking a car-theft suspect 11 times with his flashlight.

The decision had been expected since last week, when a three-member LAPD Board of Rights -- made up of two captains and a civilian -- found Officer John J. Hatfield, 36, guilty of using unnecessary force.

In a statement issued through the department’s media relations office, Bratton said that he “concurred with the board’s recommendations for termination” after “an extensive review of the findings.”

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Los Angeles police union President Bob Baker could not be reached for comment Friday.

But one community activist, Najee Ali, said Bratton “should be commended.” The firing will restore trust squandered by lackluster responses to past uses of excessive force, he said.

The June 23, 2004, incident drew both parallels to the Rodney G. King beating and an intense community reaction. Ultimately, influential black leaders persuaded their followers to let the LAPD disciplinary system run its course.

Stanley Miller of Compton had led officers on a high-speed chase out of South Los Angeles, jumped from the car and fled along Compton Creek with several officers in pursuit.

When he stopped and put his hands in the air, one officer tackled him. While Miller was on the ground, Hatfield ran up and kicked him before striking him 11 times with a flashlight and delivering five blows with his knee.

In February, the district attorney’s office declined to file charges, citing insufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing and paving the way for administrative action. The LAPD banned officers’ use of large metal flashlights.

The Board of Rights found that Hatfield’s final blows appeared “malicious” and were administered to punish Miller.

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A tearful Hatfield pleaded for his job, saying, “I honestly thought I was doing the right thing.... Nothing I did was with evil or wrongful intent or the intent to inflict unnecessary pain on Mr. Miller.”

But, saying the incident “blackens the eye of all law enforcement,” the board recommended his termination.

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