Trending
GOSHEN TOWNSHIP -- A sergeant with the Alliance Police Department is facing potential felony charges after recently being accused of endangering a child at White House Fruit Farm in Canfield.
Alliance Police Department Sgt. Ethan Griffith appeared for arraignment in Mahoning County Court No. 3 in Sebring on Thursday on a charge of endangering a child, a second-degree felony. Griffith was released from the Mahoning County jail on Wednesday after a $25,000 cash or surety bond was posted, and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. Sept. 3.
The charge stems from an incident at White House Fruit Farm on Tuesday when he allegedly struck a child who was with him. According to a police report and a news release issued by the Goshen Police District, the juvenile was "acting up" and Griffith began to drag the victim out to the parking lot by one arm, where the juvenile was struck on the left side of his face near his eye hard enough to leave bruising and a mark still visible 24 hours later," the police report states.
The news release also states that it was later determined that the victim was struck twice, which caused swelling, bruising and welting of the skin.
In a statement posted to the Alliance Police Department's Facebook page, Chief Akenra X stated Griffith had been placed on unpaid administrative leave until further notice. However, Griffith was already on paid administrative leave following an incident on June 7, when he crashed his vehicle into a utility pole in Austintown and led officers on a chase before turning himself in at the Austintown Police Department.