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Yellow Springs Officer Charged With Three Misdemeanors

A Yellow Springs police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after being charged earlier today with three misdemeanor counts in Greene County Municipal Court.

The charges against Sgt. Naomi Penrod stem from a Nov. 5, 2014 incident involving village resident Athena Fannin, who alleges that Penrod forcibly grabbed a video camera from her while she was taping the sergeant during police activity.

An independent investigation was conducted into the incident by an outside law enforcement agency and the findings turned over to a special prosecutor. Yellow Springs Village Manager Patti Bates released a statement Monday afternoon confirming that the charges had been filed.

The Statement read, "Now that an independent investigation and special prosecutor have determined the filing of criminal charges is appropriate, we must wait for the resolution of the criminal process and the Village has a legal obligation to ensure the administrative due process rights of its employee are respected.  The Village also has a duty to balance the public’s and the officer’s welfare.  For these reasons, both legal and practical, I have determined that Officer Penrod will be placed on administrative leave with pay until the criminal matter is resolved."

In a letter dated Dec. 16, Bates expressed dissatisfaction in Penrod's performance. The sergeant had also served a two-day unpaid suspension and was under a six-month retraining and evaluation period as a result of the video camera incident.

A Xenia Municipal Court officer says further details will be released later. Attempts to reach Sgt. Penrod for comment were unsuccessful.