3 MPD Officers Placed on Leave, One Arrested in Domestic Dispute
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Three Montgomery Police officers are on paid administrative leave following a domestic dispute. Now an investigation is being launched into the matter to determine what action, if any, will be taken against them.
There are still many questions surrounding this incident. Details are limited but we do know there are concerns of policy and personnel violations.
The Montgomery Police Department is now down three officers, two of them ranking, after Police Chief Ernest Finley and Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange ordered them to be placed on paid administrative leave.
Chief Finley says the three officers were involved in a domestic dispute at a Montgomery residence Sunday morning when a verbal argument turned physical.
That’s when 911 was called to the scene.
“We do not want anybody to say we’re trying to cover up anything,” said Mayor Strange. “We’re not covering up anything.”
41-year-old Janice Braswell, a 19-year veteran with the police department, was arrested on a misdemeanor harassment charge Tuesday night relating to the incident.
The names of the two other officers involved are not being released at this time because they have not been charged with anything criminal.
Strange said there are indications the two may be involved with altering the original police report, trying to hide the fact that there was a physical altercation.
“There was a report of the incident filed by detectives and by patrol officers. He [Finley] was contacted earlier Monday morning, I guess, that you might want to look at those reports because they may not be accurate.”
Finley said the city is bringing the incident to light to gain the public’s trust.
“It’s all about running the department as fair and as accurate as possible. The thing that I look at is trust and full disclosure. We’ve got to do the right thing each and every day.”
One of the officers involved in the incident was on duty. Janice Braswell was not. She has posted bond and is out of jail now.
An investigation into the incident has been launched by the Office of City Investigations. It will take up to 14 days.
