on sale now at amazon

on sale now at amazon
paperback or ebook

Little Rock officer charged with manslaughter


Little Rock officer charged with manslaughter

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A fired Little Rock police officer was formally charged with manslaughter Friday, almost five months after his arrest for fatally shooting a 15-year-old boy he said was trying to run him over with a car.

Joshua Ryan Hastings, 27, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the Class C felony

Chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson said the decision to charge Hastings was based on a review of the evidence by five prosecutors, including Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley, and that the case was subjected to the same review as every other homicide.

"The process is always the same; the facts vary from case to case," Johnson said. "There's nothing to be read into the length of time it takes to file a case."

Hastings was arrested after a police investigation contradicted his story about how he came to shoot 15-year-old Bobby Moore on Aug. 12 outside the Shadow Lake Apartments.

Hastings was one of several officers dispatched to the complex to investigate a complaint about someone breaking into cars. Hastings told investigators he opened fire in fear for his life after a car carrying three suspects drove toward him at 25 to 35 mph and the driver refused to obey his commands to stop.

The car did drive toward Hastings at some point, according to the arrest report. But detectives concluded, based on interviews with two teens in the car with Moore that night and physical evidence at the scene, that the vehicle had either stopped or was backing away from Hastings when Moore was shot, according to the report. The formal charge alleges that Hastings was reckless when he shot the teen.

The Hastings family has a "long and distinguished" history of public service to the Little Rock community, Hastings' attorney Bill James said in a statement Friday. He said they are "distraught and disappointed" about the decision to charge Hastings, but that he looks forward to having his day in court. Hastings is the son of Capt. Terry Hastings, head of the department's southwest Little Rock bureau, and cousin to another officer, Clay Hastings.

"A loss of life is tragic, but the decision to charge an on duty officer for actions taken to protect not only himself but the community at large from the threat of a person in the course of a felony only makes matters worse," James said. "Officer Hastings is confident that the jury that hears this case will see the truth."

An autopsy showed that Moore had gunshot wounds in the left middle finger, right shoulder and left side of his head, with medical examiners determining the head wound would have been immediately fatal, preventing Moore from being able to steer, according to the arrest report. The left-to-right path of the bullet wound to the teen's head had a slightly downward angle, consistent with Moore having his head turned right to look over his shoulder, the report states.

Efforts to contact a representative of the family by phone and e-mail were unsuccessful Friday.

Hastings, a five-year veteran, was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting, a routine police practice, and he was fired in October, six weeks after his arrest, after an internal inquiry determined he had committed "serious misconduct" in violating five department rules or regulations — three of them related to Moore's shooting and the other two for mishandling a June burglary.

He has appealed his firing to the city's Civil Service Commission.