Accused Lee’s Summit bank robber was police officer until 2016 domestic assault case

A former Lee’s Summit police officer now charged in a Tuesday bank robbery had left the Police Department in 2016 after he was arrested and charged with domestic assault, according to court records.

A police department spokesman said Thursday he could not comment on the reason for Richard W. Hagerty leaving the department in August 2016.

But according to court records and police reports, that was about two months after Hagerty was arrested by Kansas City police for allegedly assaulting a former girlfriend.

Hagerty was charged with assault in Kansas City Municipal Court and was found guilty in October 2016, according to court records. He is on probation in that case.

Lee’s Summit police Sgt. Chris Depue said on Thursday that Hagerty is not eligible to be rehired by the department.

Hagerty, 35, was charged Wednesday with the armed holdup of a Lee’s Summit bank. He was arrested after leading officers on a car chase that reached speeds of about 100 mph.

An affidavit filed in support of the charges does not mention a possible motive for the bank robbery. It notes that Hagerty discussed unspecified “medical issues” with FBI agents.

And he asked the FBI to contact a relative on his behalf, according to the affidavit.

That relative declined to comment when contacted by The Star on Thursday.

Hagerty joined the Lee’s Summit department in 2007 and was still employed there on June 26, 2016, when he was arrested.

According to a Kansas City police report:

Hagerty and a former live-in girlfriend were at a Kansas City-area casino when they had an argument. They left together in a vehicle driven by Hagerty.

Hagerty stopped the car and then punched, choked and struck the woman with his elbow.

The woman said that Hagerty then got out, threw away the car keys and left the area on foot.

The woman called 911. Hagerty had returned when Kansas City police officers arrived. After speaking to the woman, they took Hagerty into custody.

Several days later, the woman went to Jackson County Circuit Court and filed a request for a protection from abuse order.

In describing the incident, she said that Hagerty told her no one would believe her, because she was “supper hammer drunk.”

A final order of protection was issued in November 2016, according to court records.

As a result of that court order, Hagerty was prohibited from possessing a firearm while the order was in effect. That order was in effect until May 22, 2017, according to court records.

Although Lee’s Summit does not consider Hagerty eligible for rehire, his Missouri peace officer license is still valid, according to records of the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Hagerty is scheduled to appear in federal court on the bank robbery charges Friday. Federal prosecutors have requested that he be held without bond while the case is pending.

Hagerty is being represented by the federal public defender’s office, which did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Reporter Kaitlyn Schwers contributed to this report.

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 3:05 PM.