[PA] In Sgt. Hlavac's 3rd domestic incident his felony aggravated assault charge is reduced to a misdemeanor

A Pittsburgh police sergeant [Eugene Hlavac] accused of dislocating his ex-girlfriend's jaw in a case of domestic violence got his charge reduced from felony aggravated assault to a much lesser count of simple assault on Tuesday. "He's going to enjoy a great Christmas dinner. She's going to have to drink hers through a straw," said Jeanne Clarke, of the National Organization for Women... Hlavac's lawyer asked for the entire case to be dropped on Tuesday, but that request was denied by the judge...

Last post:
[PA] Is the domestic abuse of Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Hvalac violent enough yet to be taken seriously?

JUDGE APPROVES PROTECTION FROM ABUSE ORDER AGAINST CITY OFFICER
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, December 24, 2009
[Excerpts] A judge yesterday approved a protection from abuse order against a Pittsburgh police sergeant accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend last week. The order, signed by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kathryn Hens-Greco, instructs Sgt. Eugene F. Hlavac Jr., 42, to give up all his firearms, including his duty weapon... On Tuesday, a district judge reduced the assault charge facing Sgt. Hlavac from a felony to a misdemeanor. Sgt. Hlavac ... is temporarily assigned to the warrant office while police bureau officials conduct an internal investigation. [Full article here]

PITTSBURGH POLICE SERGEANT FACES TRIAL ON REDUCED CHARGE
Tribune-Review
By Bobby Kerlik
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
[Excerpts] An Allegheny County judge Tuesday ordered a Pittsburgh police sergeant accused of slapping his former girlfriend to stand trial on a reduced assault charge. Eugene Hlavac, 41, had faced a felony aggravated assault charge in the incident Friday outside his Greenfield home, but District Judge Nathan Firestone reduced the severity of the charge to a misdemeanor simple assault. Firestone said the evidence supported the less severe charge after listening to tearful testimony from Hlavac's former girlfriend, [LM]... Speaking through her teeth because she said it hurt to open her jaw, [LM] testified that Hlavac "struck" her across the face with an open hand after the pair got in an argument because she was late to pick up their son... Firestone did not allow [Hlavac's attorney Phil] DiLucente to present two witnesses, who he says will back up the officer's version of the story. He repeatedly questioned [LM] about whether she came at Hlavac with arms flailing. [LM] denied that she attacked him... Jeanne Clark, president of the Squirrel Hill chapter of the National Organization for Women, attended the hearing. "We expect the Pittsburgh police to treat this seriously," Clark said. "He'll enjoy a great Christmas dinner, and she'll have to drink hers through a straw." [Full article here]

JUDGE REDUCES ASSAULT CHARGE AGAINST OFFICER
Ex-girlfriend says she suffered dislocated jaw
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Jerome L. Sherman
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
[Excerpts] A Pittsburgh police sergeant was defending himself when he struck his ex-girlfriend in the face during an argument in front of his Greenfield home last week, the sergeant's attorney said yesterday. "He was attacked," Phillip DiLucente said of his client, Sgt. Eugene F. Hlavac Jr., 42, following a hearing in Municipal Court. District Judge Nathan N. Firestone decided to reduce the severity of the criminal charge facing Sgt. Hlavac, changing it from aggravated assault, a first-degree felony, to simple assault, a misdemeanor. [LM], 23, testified that she suffered a dislocated jaw after the sergeant slapped her. She cried often during the hearing. She gripped the side of her mouth and struggled to speak at times. "It hurts to talk" she said... On cross-examination, Mr. DiLucente asked [LM] if she had started the confrontation, yelling at Sgt. Hlavac as she flailed her arms... "He denies all the charges, even as they stand at simple assault," Mr. DiLucente said of his client after yesterday's hearing. "He will be exonerated." Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the Citizen Police Review Board, said state law requires the city to suspend a police officer charged with a felony or a "serious misdemeanor." "He hit her and he should be punished," said Jeanne Clark, president of the Squirrel Hill branch of the National Organization for Women, who attended the hearing to show her group's support for [LM]. "It's not fair for this woman to live in fear"... [Full article here]

PITTSBURGH COP'S CHARGES REDUCED IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE
Police Sgt. Eugene Hlavac Accused Of Hitting Girlfriend
thepittsburghchannel.com
POSTED: 1:12 pm EST December 21, 2009
UPDATED: 6:43 pm EST December 22, 2009
[Excerpts] A Pittsburgh police sergeant accused of dislocating his ex-girlfriend's jaw in a case of domestic violence got his charge reduced from felony aggravated assault to a much lesser count of simple assault on Tuesday. "He's going to enjoy a great Christmas dinner. She's going to have to drink hers through a straw," said Jeanne Clarke, of the National Organization for Women, after Sgt. Eugene Hlavac's preliminary hearing in downtown Municipal Court... "My client was not the person that initiated the confrontation, nor is he a person that engaged in any illegal activity," said Hlavac's lawyer, Phillip DiLucente... The Citizen Police Review Board is outraged about what it says is a failure to follow protocol. The board wants an investigation to start immediately - saying it shouldn't matter that Hlavac is on vacation - and it's also angry that the Pittsburgh Police Bureau promoted him in 2007 despite a pattern of domestic issues. "We want them to suspend him - all of his police powers - until such time as this issue is resolved," said Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the Citizen Police Review Board. "That is required under state law, under the Confidence in Law Enforcement Act, so they better do that." Hlavac's lawyer asked for the entire case to be dropped on Tuesday, but that request was denied by the judge... "Let's remember what happened here. You can call it anything you want to, but he hit her and he should be punished," Clarke said... In 2007, Pittsburgh City Council voted in favor of a bill allowing guns to be taken away from police officers who are involved in suspected cases of domestic violence. Ravenstahl promised a "zero tolerance" policy going forward... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner abuse law enforcement public safety policy pennsylvania preferential teflon hx repeat]