Off-duty officers arrested for assault
By By Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
March 21, 2001
Two Meridian Police Department officers and a Marion Police Department officer have been charged with simple assault in connection with a weekend incident at Skate Odyssey.
Senior patrol officer Travis Ruffin and Reserve Cpl. Jerry Blackwell were charged Monday. Also charged was Marion police officer Darrell Hopson.
Meridian Police Chief Gregg Lewis said the charges stem from an incident Saturday night involving a juvenile.
Lewis said the family of the boy, a teen-ager, came to the police department and objected to the manner in which the officers handled the boy while removing him from the rink for rules violations.
None of the officers are facing disciplinary action at this time, Lewis said.
All three officers are scheduled to appear in Meridian Municipal Court on April 23.
All three officers are free on their own recognizance.