File Photo of Josh Hastings Brian Chilson

The mother of Bobby Moore III, the 15-year-old shot by former Little Rock Police officer Josh Hastings in Aug. 2012, is speaking out about the dismissal of manslaughter charges against Hastings yesterday. Prosecutors told Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen during a hearing on Monday that they had a good faith belief that a jury would ever be able to reach a verdict on the charges against Hastings, and Griffen granted their motion to nolle pros the case. Hastings shot Moore while responding to a report of a car break in at a West Little Rock apartment complex. Prosecutors charged him with manslaughter, saying his actions were reckless, but two previous trials ended in hung juries. 

Sylvia Perkins, Moore’s mother, told THV This Morning today that the dismissal of the charges has been a nightmare for her family. Perkins said that she prays that Josh Hastings isn’t able to regain his position with the police department. Hastings’ attorney Bill James said yesterday that Hastings plans to seek a civil service hearing to try and get his job back. “Closure and justice,” Perkins told KTHV. “That’s all I want. That’s all I ever wanted.”

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