YELLOW SPRINGS — Yellow Springs Police Sergeant Naomi Penrod was found not guilty last week on all three misdemeanor charges after a videotaped incident.
“We all wish it had not happened, and what we’re doing now is moving forward,” Chief of Police David Hale of the Yellow Springs Police Department said. “We are taking steps that are necessary to repair the damage to the public’s trust and to the village’s police department, and move forward.”
Penrod answered a peace officer call in November, where the residents involved proceeded to videotape the incident. However, Hale said she determined that she should not be recorded, and physically removed the camera. This lead the involved individuals to press charges against her, including misdemeanor assault, a misdemeanor of the first degree; interfering with civil rights, a misdemeanor of the first degree; and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
An internal investigation conducted by the Yellow Springs Police Department found that Penrod violated policy, and she was placed on administrative leave. The occurrence was further investigated by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the results were ultimately turned over to the Springfield Municipal Prosecutor.
After Penrod was found not guilty by a sitting judge at the Xenia Municipal Court, the Yellow Springs Police Department removed her from administrative leave. She is currently exchanging vacation hours for personal time off and may continue to do so for the next couple of weeks.
Hale said she would take at least a week, and was unsure of her exact point of return at the time of publication. Penrod will participate in training classes in the coming months, including an interaction and deescalation class in August, as well as a procedural justice and policy legitimacy class in October.
“We are a small village and there’s clearly going to be some challenges, but that is what we do,” Hale said. “The justice system has spoken, and we will move forward and progress the best we can.”