No Officer Said ‘Gun,’ 2 Recall

Two women who say they witnessed the beating of alleged car thief Stanley Miller report that none of the police involved called out a warning that Miller had a gun, contradicting the account five officers gave to justify striking and kicking the prone suspect during his arrest.

Los Angeles Police Officer John J. Hatfield, who is shown on TV news videos striking Miller repeatedly with a flashlight, said he heard Officer David Hale yell that the suspect had a gun, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Hale, 31, said he shouted the warning after he felt a bulky object in Miller’s pocket, the sources said.

But one of the women, who said she watched the arrest through a bedroom window about 20 feet away, added: “They didn’t say anything about a gun. I promise you, they didn’t say anything like that.”

Her cousin reported watching from the same room. She said the window was slightly ajar and the blinds were open.

Both women, who did not want their names published for fear of retaliation, said they could hear an officer yelling at Miller to stop resisting.

“It’s not like they said he had a weapon ... or anything like that,” the cousin said.

Both women said they gave a similar account to LAPD investigators. Department officials would not confirm or deny interviewing the women.

The warning that Miller was armed -- he was, in fact, not -- has emerged as the main line of defense for officers under investigation in the June 23 beating, which was later televised nationwide.

Four of the officers -- Peter Bueno, 29; Todd Behrens, 37; Hatfield, 35; and Phillip Watson, 33 -- told investigators the day of the beating that they heard Hale’s warning as Miller was being swarmed beside a concrete-lined wash in Compton, according to an LAPD source.

All five officers, including Hale, were either on top of Miller or within several feet of him at the time Hatfield was using the flashlight and then his knees to subdue the suspect. The five men have been assigned to their homes during the criminal and administrative investigations.

Another contradiction with the LAPD’s initial account of Miller’s arrest was reported in The Times last week.

Hale told LAPD investigators that he yelled, “Gun!” after feeling a hard object in Miller’s right front pocket, sources said. Miller’s arrest report said an officer recovered wire cutters from the suspect’s pocket, according to sources.

But Bueno, through his attorney, informed the department that he found the wire cutters in the back seat of the stolen Toyota Camry, more than 360 feet from where Miller was apprehended, according to a source familiar with his statement.

LAPD investigators are debating whether to compel Bueno to answer more questions, sources said. The officer is also seen on tape kneeing the suspect once, though police officials said that action appeared to be within department policy.

Chief William J. Bratton pledged to the Los Angeles City Council and community leaders that he would complete his department’s criminal investigation within 60 days and turn over the results to the district attorney’s office for review.

LAPD officials have consulted at length with the district attorney’s office, which is considering use of a grand jury to further the investigation.

Some community leaders have compared the videotaped pummeling of Miller to the 1991 beating of Rodney G. King.

Like King, Miller had led police on a car chase. But in this case, after about 30 minutes, Miller drove to a dead-end, jumped out of the vehicle and began sprinting alongside Compton Creek.

Two TV news helicopter crews and an LAPD helicopter hovered overhead as eight officers chased Miller.

Officers Hale and Watson tackled the suspect as he was dropping to his knees. Seconds later, Hatfield kicked at Miller, who was by then lying on the ground, and struck him 11 times with a flashlight. Hatfield is also seen on the videotape kneeing Miller five times.

The two witnesses told The Times they were awakened by helicopters and a loudspeaker. They said they looked out the window and saw a man, later identified as Miller, running along the dirt path that borders their backyard. Then they said they saw him stop and put his hands over his head.

One of the women said she saw an officer tackle Miller, and another strike him eight times with a flashlight.

“He came beating up on him,” the woman said. “It all happened so fast. But it was uncalled for and unnecessary. I was shocked.”

One of the women said she watched an officer pat down Miller but didn’t see the policeman remove any objects during the search.

A third witness, 38-year-old Sharon McCall, said she was drinking coffee and watching the chase on TV when it ended in her neighborhood. She went outside as officers ran after Miller, and she watched from her yard, about 30 yards across Compton Creek. “They kicked him in the head, and that’s when I went ballistic,” she said.

“I told them to stop kicking him. ‘Why are you kicking him?’ ‘Leave him alone!’ ” she recalled shouting at the officers.