Richmond prosecutors were unauthorized under state law to dismiss an assault charge against a city police officer after he agreed to pay his victim's medical costs, Richmond's top prosecutor acknowledged yesterday.Why? I'm sure they'd have offered you and me the same deal.
Wouldn't they?
[Via Mack H]
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Herring gave the following account of the incident at the bar:
McCloskey, off-duty and in plain clothes, went into the bar and saw an ex-girlfriend and a man sitting in a booth. McCloskey and the woman got in an argument, and the man, Richard Thompson, 35, interjected and said something to the effect of, "Dude, chill out, relax."
The two men exchanged words, and while Thompson was still in his seat, he was punched about six times in the head, Herring said. Thompson had a cut and heavy bleeding. His injuries required four stitches.
A bartender removed McCloskey from the bar, and the officer fled in a black sportutility vehicle, according to Herring and a police affidavit.
At least one witness took down the SUV's license plate number, Herring said. One or more people in the bar called 911, and officers Campbell, 24, and House, 25, arrived at the scene.
At one point, according to Herring, a woman pulled up in a car and accusingly said to McCloskey, "You're the guy who just beat that guy up."
According to Herring, House told the woman to roll up her window and move along.
The woman again accused McCloskey of beating up Thompson, and McCloskey read to the woman the license plate number of the car she was in, according to charging papers. The woman asked McCloskey if he was threatening her, and he reminded the witness that he had her license plate number, the affidavit says.
"She was disturbed, to say the least," Herring said.
Herring added, "There was no effort by anyone at the scene to get her information."
Campbell began drafting a report of the offense as a simple assault, but he and House agreed to delete the report after they discussed the identity of the suspect, according to the charging papers. They also noted in a computer system that any witnesses at the scene were too drunk to be of assistance, Herring said.
Thompson was taken to the hospital, where he learned he had been assaulted by an officer, Herring said. Later that day, Thompson reported the incident to Richmond police internal affairs.
Internal affairs conducted a lengthy investigation, Herring said, that resulted in administrative punishment for the three officers.
On March 3, a grand jury indicted McCloskey on the misdemeanor assault charge.
Herring noted that he himself approved the $5,000 agreement, thinking that "it was just a bar fight" involving an off-duty police officer. But he said he should not have done so, especially in a case in which "a police officer beat up a citizen."
He said he will not fire Geary, his deputy, but has not decided whether to punish him.
"He's an indispensable asset to this office," Herring said.
Geary could not be reached for comment.
Herring said he learned two or three months ago about the actions that led to the obstruction charges.
That came when an attorney representing a Richmond officer who is charged with making false reports complained that other officers had been treated more leniently. That led prosecutors to delve more deeply into the Jan. 22 assault.
Efforts last night to reach officers McCloskey, House and Campbell for comment were unsuccessful.
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