JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) - A
Greenwood Police Officer has been suspended following his arrest in a disturbance
at a party early New Year's Day.
39 year old Joseph Rodriguez
has been suspended for five days without pay and faces possible further
sanctions before the Greenwood Merit Commission.
Rodriguez was off duty when he
was arrested by the Johnson County Sheriffs Department following a disturbance
at a party.
Rodriguez faces charges of
Battery on two Police Officers, Resisting Law Enforcement, Public Intoxication,
Strangulation and Battery against his wife.
Shortly after 1 a.m. police
were called to the 4400 block of Diamond Ridge in Hickory Stick to a
disturbance.
One caller told dispatchers the
off duty police officer was throwing punches and was out of control.
According to the police report,
Rodriguez was found laying in the roadway, intoxicated and bleeding from the
face.
When officers attempted to
assist him, Rodriguez reportedly became combative, punching one deputy in the
face.
Medics were called to the scene
and police say Rodriguez kicked them
also.
Joey Rodriguez was strapped to
a gurney and taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
As officers investigated what
led up to the incident, witnesses said Rodriguez became intoxicated and got out
of control.
A pair of witnesses told
officers Rodriguez had been choking his wife and one of them attempted to
intervene by punching Rodriguez twice until he released his wife.
The police report states an
officer secured a handgun that had been removed from Rodriguez before police
arrived.
Rodriguez is being held on
$150,000 bond.
Greenwood Police Chief John
Laut has contacted the Greenwood Police Merit Commission to request an
executive session to discuss further disciplinary action against Officer
Rodriguez.. The Chief of Police can only
suspend an employee for up to five days.
