MANSFIELD — An off-duty Mansfield police officer and an off-duty Richland County Sheriff’s Office deputy have both been charged with misdemeanor assault after a confrontation, according to an emailed press release Monday from Chief Keith Porch.
Porch said the charge against officer Brittney Pennywitt stemmed “from a disturbance and physical confrontation that occurred between herself and Eric Wendling, a Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy.
According to Porch, the incident happened Feb. 28 at about 1:13 a.m. in the city. Wendling was charged at with misdemeanor assault at the scene of the confrontation, Porch said.
Pennywitt, who was sworn in on May 20, 2019, has been on paid administrative leave since the altercation and the pending investigative follow-up by police, the chief said.
“She was formally charged following a review of the case by the Mansfield City Law Director’s Office. She remains on paid administrative leave pending an internal affairs review, as well as the outcome of the pending criminal charge,” Porch said.
The police department’s news release is in conjunction with Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon, according to Porch.
“The sheriff’s office was immediately notified by Mansfield police of the deputy’s arrest and that he would be incarcerated for the alleged criminal act. He was placed on administrative leave with pay after his arrival at the jail, by the sheriff,” Sheldon said.
Wendling remains on leave while the sheriff’s office conducts an internal affairs investigation into the incident, according to Sheldon.
Porch said that due to the pending criminal charges and internal affairs review, he will not comment on the case at this time.
A police narrative with the report said Mansfield officers responded to a report of a female being assaulted outside her residence. The narrative said Pennywitt and Wendling, her boyfriend, had been in an argument, though she denied being assaulted.
