Saturday, May 01, 1999
Officer charged with drunken driving
BY SHEILA McLAUGHLIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — The head of the Warren County Drug Task Force was placed on desk duty after being charged with drunken driving, the county prosecutor said Friday.
Sgt. John Pennington, a Lebanon police officer assigned to the task force, was arrested at 4:49 a.m. Wednesday after a state trooper noticed his 1994 Honda Accord weaving at Ohio 63 and Markey Road in Turtlecreek Township. Sgt. Pennington was alone at the time.
According to court records, Sgt. Pennington refused a Breathalyzer test when the trooper took him to the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Lebanon post.
Sgt. Pennington also is charged with failure to travel within marked lanes. It was unclear whether the car he was driving was a county car.
Sgt. Pennington pleaded not guilty to the charges in Lebanon Municipal Court Thursday and is free on bond.
Warren County Prosecutor Tim Oliver said Sgt. Pennington was placed on administrative leave Thursday, and will be allowed only to do paperwork in the office. The task force is operated out of Mr. Oliver's office on Justice Drive.
“He is not to be out in the field,” Mr. Oliver said.
“Certainly it has an impact. There are other people who can continue the work, but obviously you like to have your director out in the field.”
He would not comment on the arrest.
Sgt. Pennington, a Lebanon officer for about 22 years, was appointed as director of the task force in 1993.
He oversees drug enforcement activity in the county and coordinates local drug investigations.
The task force is a joint effort among the prosecutor's office, the sheriff's department and five police departments. All contribute to fund the operation and pay Sgt. Pennington's salary.
Lebanon Police Chief Ken Burns expressed surprise at Mr. Pennington's arrest.
“I think it's unlike him; and, for the most part, it's unlike any member of the department,” he said.
“A lot of people make errors in judgment all the time.”
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