A California Superior Court judge sided Wednesday with the City of Manhattan Beach in its decision to terminate former police officer Eric Eccles for his involvement in an off-duty vehicle collision in January 2010. Eccles was terminated in March 2011 by then Chief of Police Rod Uyeda after the matter was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Attorney Peter Brown, who represented the city and Uyeda in the action brought by Eccles to gain his job back, said Judge Joanne O'Donnell denied Eccles's legal petition seeking re-employment as a police officer with Manhattan Beach. Eccles' last avenue would be an appeal. It is not yet known if he will file an appeal.
The judge issued a 7-page tentative ruling to which she will make some modifications, Brown said. O'Donnell did not have to issue a ruling Wednesday but did based upon a review of the "3,000 pages of documents" given to her.
Brown said the judge's review was "based on the record in front of her" and that she deemed Eccles' termination "valid based on the law." The documents given to Judge O'Donnell included the sheriff's department's criminal and internal affairs investigations, the Skelly hearing for Eccles, and others. Brown said Eccles' "case was argued in a 6-day hearing" and upheld by an arbitrator.
Said Uyeda after the judge's decision Wednesday, "I am pleased for the City of Manhattan Beach and the law enforcement profession that the judge’s strong ruling supported the disciplinary decisions made by the city and the independent arbitrator in this matter. The City of Manhattan Beach has done everything to ensure the investigation was independent and conclusions reached have been vetted and strongly agreed upon by every level of appeal to date. I continue to wish him [Eccles] well in his endeavors."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
