Officer Eric Pinkerton placed
on administrative leave
SPRING HILL — Eric Lee
Pinkerton, a Spring Hill police officer, was arrested by Columbia police and
charged with domestic simple assault after an argument with his estranged wife.
Pinkerton, who was off duty at
the time of the arrest, was placed on administrative leave with pay by the
Spring Hill Police Department, pending an internal investigation, Spring Hill
Police Lt. Justin Whitwell said. Pinkerton, 35, has been employed by the
department since October 2008. Columbia police are handling the criminal
investigation.
Pinkerton was arrested Jan. 22
after his wife, Brandy Lee Pinkerton, 33, called Columbia police. When police
arrived, she was throwing his clothes onto the front porch and into the front
yard, Columbia Police Officer James Williamson said in his report.
Eric Pinkerton told police the
two had agreed to separate and he was going to move out soon because his wife
had accused him of “having a girlfriend that he talks to,” the report says.
Brandy Pinkerton told police
that while trying to stop her from throwing his clothes in the yard, he hurt
her arm, the report says. Emergency medical services were treating her right
forearm when police arrived. The report says she had minor injuries.
“The Spring Hill Police
Department wants the community to know that we take the issue of domestic
violence very seriously and no one person is above the law,” Whitwell said in a
news release.
