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Little Rock officer arrested on manslaughter charge
By
Rachel Hook
This article was originally published September 7, 2012 at 3:40 p.m. Updated September 7, 2012 at 3:56 p.m.
PHOTO BY PULASKI COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Josh Hastings, 26, of Little Rock
- Comments (29)
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LITTLE ROCK — A Little Rock police officer has been arrested on a manslaughter charge following an August shooting that left one teenager dead.
The Little Rock Police Department announced in a news release that officer Josh Hastings, 26, was arrested Friday afternoon about 2 p.m. in west Little Rock. Hastings responded to a call Aug. 12 regarding three suspects who were breaking into cars at Shadow Lake Apartments, 13111 W. Markham, and were reportedly leaving the area in a stolen vehicle.
Hastings told investigating officers that the suspects approached him in the vehicle and failed to stop despite his instructions to do so. Hastings reportedly fired shots at the vehicle, which ultimately killed the driver — 15-year-old Bobby Moore.
Hastings was immediately placed on administrative leave after the shooting pending both internal and criminal investigations. On Friday he was formally charged with manslaughter, a class-C felony, after the prosecuting attorney's office concluded that Hastings' use of deadly force was not justified. According to the release, he remains off-duty while "administrative proceedings are conducted."
Read more about this story in tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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Comments on: Little Rock officer arrested on manslaughter charge
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ToTheLeft says... September 7, 2012 at 3:53 p.m.
Isn't trying to run over a policeman attempted murder? This is letting minors know they can do whatever they darn well please and get away with it.
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hah406 says... September 7, 2012 at 3:56 p.m.
This seems like the D.A. giving in to race-based community pressure to me. The boy he shot was committing multiple felonies, was in possession of a stolen car, and ignored the lawful order of a police officer to stop and surrender himself. I hate to sound cold-hearted, but we were taught to do what the police say, no matter what. So if you are doing crime and ignore the police when you get caught, you get what you get. But charging this officer with a crime is wrong.
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TheBatt says... September 7, 2012 at 3:59 p.m.
Either there is a HUGE injustice about to be done to a police officer who was defending his life... OR
There is so much more to this story than is being released to the press.
I hope I am wrong, but I can't help but wonder if this is an effort to prevent a public relations nightmare related to "an innocent boy being executed by an evil cop" that some elements of our society like to engineer.
I pray that, if indeed this officer is lying and he did act out of line - that the truth be known. But I also pray that, if this officer is being truthful - that he be cleared and have his career restored to him.
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Jackabbott says... September 7, 2012 at 4:02 p.m.
This will only lead to brazen attempts by others to break the law and then create excuses to avoid being caught. It appears the officer might have excerised bad judgement in shooting but people whether police or not have a right to defend themselves. Perhaps the new legislature will correct this.
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Animmol says... September 7, 2012 at 4:11 p.m.
Don't tell the dead 15 year-old that he got away with anything. This sends a message, but perhaps not the right one. Without having been there, it's impossible to make judgments, but refusing to comply with the lawful order of a police officer while in the commission of a crime does not necessarily constitute grounds for use of deadly force. If there were other alternatives at hand to deal with the criminals, the officer is obligated to pursue them before making the decision to discharge his weapon.
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mindvmatter says... September 7, 2012 at 4:18 p.m.
I feel there is more to the story as well. A lot of people take their jobs too seriously and police officers are no different. There is a legal right to protect yourself from harm, not your property. You cannot argue property is worth more than human life....
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inquire says... September 7, 2012 at 4:28 p.m.
I don't know if this arrest is right or not. One thing I do know, if the boy hadn't been trying to commit a crime, he and the officer wouldn't have crossed paths and he wouldn't have been shot. Living a bad life puts a person in danger of coming to a bad end. When someone deliberately disobeys a lawful order of a police officer, there is always danger of it ending badly.
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MenLR2 says... September 7, 2012 at 4:38 p.m.
And what charges is Mom facing? Her son is running the streets in a stolen car with other thugs who steal...and she walks free? Hastings may have messed up, no one here knows all the facts , yet. But Mom messed up also. Come on Tough, Old prosecuting attorney take her down too.
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razrbacker196107191542 says... September 7, 2012 at 5:05 p.m.
THIS idiot SHOULD have been fired about his THIRD suspension, or so....My prediction is that the family has a damn good lawsuit on their hands....and a settlement in their future. He was a scumbag, no doubt...but...this action was the PD's responsibility in NOT firing him long ago. Gives LEO a bad name! People don't remember the good ones...only the ones like this jagoff....hope you like your new cellmates! I 'hear" they don't like ex-cops very much...
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Frasier says... September 7, 2012 at 5:10 p.m.
I was not at the scene and I presume none of the other commenters were either. Based only on what the story tells us, this is a bad day for police especially Officer Josh Hastings. Three car thieves approaching a police offer and they refuse to stop as instructed...what was Officer Hastings (or any other officer in his place) expected to do - say "OK, no prob boys just slow down and be carefull..." If there is truly more to the real story that what we know so far, then we need to know it. If this truly is the real story then I think the prosecutor's office needs a deluge of protest from the citizenry of Little Rock and none of us should expect the LRPD to stick its neck out for us. This isn't right.
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Whodini says... September 7, 2012 at 5:34 p.m.
Without further investigating all facts no one realky knows da truth people should stop making negative judgemental comments until the entire story is out. The police force may have taken one for da team; God knows they've gotten away with numerous errors themselves! Ouch dis is gonna cost big team that's what happens when u keep crooked cops on da force...
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DeeII says... September 7, 2012 at 5:52 p.m.
Let me see, did you all not read the article in the ADG a few days ago about this officier? He was suspended 6 times since joining the force in 2007. Found "Guilty" of consistently lying, bad judgement, abusive behavior, not being in his assigned patrol area!!! I appreciate officiers, but this guy is a bad apple, and the article revealed that the guy got many of the "Good-ol-Boy" passes. It was so bad/obvious that the Police Chief and the PR lady did not even have their stories together as to why he got so many passes. Could it be because he is the son of Terry Hastings- LRPD Public Relations officier???? Is this the reason why none, I repeat none of the TV stations decided to touch or investigate the story after it came out in the paper. I was not there either but I have confidence in Larry Jegley that this was part of another attempted lie that this THUG perpetrated and was caught. You know there are things that people say that the facts just don't support. This looks to be one of them, so perhaps the kids did not attempt to run him over, as he states. Not attempting to protect the kids, as they deserve to pay the price, but I dought that even those of you on this blog with "racial" hate in your hearts, would agree that the kid did not deserve to DIE if he was not attempting to run that officier over. This reminds me of the Coach Petrino situation, when before Jeff Long had the press conference, you could not get anyone to publicly say he should be fired! Once you heard the facts, then most agreed with the decision and there are some who still don't get the risk for potential liability he put the university/state in by having a relationship with someone, then hire her and have her report to him. That is a sexual harrassment suit waiting to happen. There is more details to this story and I look forward to reading them, but come to the realization that even in 2012 there are people in Arkansas that believe it is OK for Whites to Kill Blacks under any circumstances.
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logrif says... September 7, 2012 at 6:42 p.m.
WAKE UP PEOPLE, SOME COPS ARE BAD COPS AND THIS SEEMS TO BE ONE. Poster, Deell said it best................."Let me see, did you all not read the article in the ADG a few days ago about this officier? He was suspended 6 times since joining the force in 2007. Found "Guilty" of consistently lying, bad judgement, abusive behavior, not being in his assigned patrol area!!! I appreciate officiers, but this guy is a bad apple, and the article revealed that the guy got many of the "Good-ol-Boy" passes. It was so bad/obvious that the Police Chief and the PR lady did not even have their stories together as to why he got so many passes. Could it be because he is the son of Terry Hastings- LRPD Public Relations officier???? Is this the reason why none, I repeat none of the TV stations decided to touch or investigate the story after it came out in the paper. I was not there either but I have confidence in Larry Jegley that this was part of another attempted lie that this THUG perpetrated and was caught. You know there are things that people say that the facts just don't support. This looks to be one of them, so perhaps the kids did not attempt to run him over, as he states. Not attempting to protect the kids, as they deserve to pay the price, but I dought that even those of you on this blog with "racial" hate in your hearts, would agree that the kid did not deserve to DIE if he was not attempting to run that officier over." ANother big concern is, HOW CAN FELLOW OFFICERS TRUST THIS GUY????
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Felina says... September 7, 2012 at 6:48 p.m.
I agree this dude is a bad egg, but please don't copy/paste entire posts from other commenters! BTW, Terry Hastings is his father. So sad, his dad seemed like a good guy but this will probably lead to his early retirement. Is it appropriate to have father and son on the same force, anyway?
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Cato says... September 7, 2012 at 6:56 p.m.
What should he have done --wait to be run over? Please---
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Felina says... September 7, 2012 at 6:57 p.m.
Arkansas Times has more info from other witnesses and the evidence supports their claim that the thug put the vehicle in reverse and was attempting to flee.
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NoUserName says... September 7, 2012 at 7:22 p.m.
Seems pretty clear this guy got away with a fair bit 'o stuff due to his old man being on the department. And the LRPD wonders why nobody trusts them. As for the charge, as has been suggested, go read the AR Times report. The Chief says the boy stopped prior to reaching the officer and was putting the car in reverse to drive away from Hastings. If that's true, and I don't really have reason to doubt the Chief, then manslaughter sounds about right.
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DeeII says... September 7, 2012 at 7:35 p.m.
You can read the report and press release directly below his picture and to the left above. Two separate investigations come up with the same conclusion.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... September 7, 2012 at 7:50 p.m.
Well Felina it's too bad this kid didn't reverse the direction of his life before he reversed the car or he would still be here today; it's sad but true
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daniel5003 says... September 7, 2012 at 7:58 p.m.
no doubt the boy shouldn't have been breaking into cars. no doubt officer hastings is a bad cop based on his personnel file. bad cop and criminal collide on a fateful day. criminal dead, bad cop in jail, life ruined. bottom line: a criminal and a bad cop are forever off the streets.
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Felina says... September 7, 2012 at 8:08 p.m.
...and the city will soon be out several hundred thousand dollars! As agregious as the actions of the officer were, the thug and his mother share some responsibility for his death. I hope the lawsuit upholds that.
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miniahha says... September 7, 2012 at 9:39 p.m.
Autopsy results came back that the kid wasn't even looking in the cop's direction. Police investigation said the kid stopped short of the cop and was backing up when the cop fired. Read the news release on Fox 16.
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GoodMorningUncleSam says... September 7, 2012 at 10:47 p.m.
Eveyone lost here, the cop, the kid and all of society. Its imperative that we make the societal changes necessary to reign in crime. Too many lives are being lost or destroyed and the quality of all of our lives has been effected. We must stop the growth in children raising children and return civil order to society.
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Bambilin says... September 7, 2012 at 11:23 p.m.
Jumping to conclusions about whether or not the officer would have been run over? Or, did the officer choose to place himself in front of the vehicle's path to challenge them? The officer is innocent until proven guilty. But, he shouldn't be declared guilty or excused without knowing all of the facts.
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Addison says... September 8, 2012 at 8:24 a.m.
Why can't I ever get on a jury for something like this. As for the news account about the lad looking away or perceived to be backing up, the former is easily explained and the latter a little harder. Not having he facts, I don't know if the kid had backed up a little or a lot, whether the officer detected that the kid was making another run at him or if the car was truly backing up to get away or go around. I also don't know when he shots were fired versus when the kid started backing up (if he did). Want to stay out of these difficult situations? Don't break into cars, don't steal a car, and don't drive it at an armed police officer and ignore his commands to stop. I'm sure his parent's feel bad about what happened, but it would seem that it is guilt as much as sadness coming into play. Their son was killed in the commission of a felony and that is truly tragic, but hardly the officer's fault.
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bunting says... September 8, 2012 at 9:46 a.m.
its not the mothers fault, maybe like most mothers these day are single mothers and his father wasn't around and the mother was out making a living for her family. no matter what the mother shouldn't be charge with anything. and the big picture here is that officer had no rights to used force to take a kids life.... he could have took matters better then that, this kid was 13 was he that afraid for his life cuz a kid was breakin into cars? NO... that officer had no right shooting that kid or any kid for that matter... i read all the time about cops in the last few weeks thats been using uncall force against female and kids and i have to said it makes me sick, for them to think its ok for them to treat people familys like that and what would happen to one of us if we killed one of their kids, mother, daughter or sisiter we would be label as an animal... so i believe this officer is getting what he should get and there will be alot more coming to him when he gos to prison.... take care Mr Officer and enjoy yr life cuz that kid won't and either will his family and friends
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Moonglowalso says... September 8, 2012 at 12:15 p.m.
I wonder how much family pressure was on Josh Hastings to become a police officer and follow in his father's footsteps. And once Josh showed, by numerous charges, that he wasn't up to doing this kind of job, was there pressure from the family not to quit? I think that It should have seemed clear to Terry Hastings that his son was not cut out to be a police officer. Josh should have left the force a long time ago.
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T6 says... September 8, 2012 at 7:37 p.m.
It's sad the kid had to lose his life. I feel bad about that but he chose to go down a road, that at some point in his future, he would've have probably killed and robbed innocent people. He met his maker sooner than later.
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BarichMilhusseinObamaNixonPOTUS says... September 8, 2012 at 10:18 p.m.
Nice one bunting; the kid was 15 and out on bond for a felony b&e and driving a stolen car. You are right that the mom isn't at fault, the kid is. If he had not been out at 5:15 in the morning helping his friends break into cars this would not have happened. If you don't continually break the law you might survive!
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