Village officials said if no criminal charges were pursued that Nipper likely would return to the police department.
UPDATE @ 8:23 a.m. (Dec. 31, 2016):
Yellow Springs Police Chief David Hale placed officer Dennis Nipper on unpaid administrative leave for an indefinite period, according to a Dec. 22 letter. Reasons for the disciplinary action are not listed.
Nipper also was suspended for three days in 1982 without pay after he failed to follow verbal orders, according to village documents.
Last year, Nipper received an oral warning after violating an order issued by a superior officer, according to village documents.
Nipper was hired as a full-time village officer in 1972 and worked for the police department for 38 years before he retired in 2010, according to the village. He returned to the police department a year later and works “as needed,” meaning he isn’t guaranteed a certain amount of hours each week and he has the option to decline shifts.
UPDATE @ 9:15 a.m. (Dec. 30):
We have obtained a copy of the police narrative from the Dec. 22 incident.
The officer under investigation — longtime veteran law enforcement officer Patrolman Dennis Nipper — was placed on administrative leave after a complaint of misconduct had been filed against him, according to the narrative.
Ten minutes after Nipper left the Yellow Springs Police Department, his wife, Jane, showed up at the Government Center and was observed as “upset and yelling at Chief (David) Hale by her wildly waving arms and demeanor,” the narrative says.
She was advised multiple times to get in her vehicle and leave the premises, but she refused, yelling obscenities and acting disorderly, according to the report. Jane Nipper was arrested for disorderly conduct and taken into the police department without incident.
UPDATE @ 8:38 a.m. (Dec. 30):
The wife of a Yellow Springs police officer on leave pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct charges stemming from an incident on Dec. 22.
Jane Nipper was released on her own recognizance on the condition that she have no contact with the Yellow Springs Government Center.
UPDATE @ 5:30 p.m. (Dec. 29)
Mark Moretti, spokesman for Ohio BCI, confirmed that the state criminal investigation unit has been asked to investigate allegations against a Yellow Springs police officer.
“The investigation is ongoing and so we cannot comment further,” Moretti said.
In a statement released by Yellow Springs Village Manager Patti Bates, the officer under investigation is Patrolman Dennis Nipper, a longtime veteran law enforcement officer.
His wife, 65-year-old Jane E. Nipper, is facing a charge of disorderly conduct in Xenia Municipal Court.
Bates’ statement is as follows: “Patrolman Dennis Nipper was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 22 pending the completion of an investigation. At this time, the village cannot comment or discuss any matters pertaining to the investigation. The same evening, the patrolman’s wife was arrested, based upon probable cause, on a charge of disorderly conduct. That matter has been referred to the Xenia Municipal Court.”
Jane Nipper is scheduled to appear for an arraignment Wednesday morning.
Further details have not been released.
FIRST REPORT
We’re working to learn more about a situation that has led to a Yellow Springs police officer being put on leave and the arrest of the officer’s wife.
A village of Yellow Springs official tells us a village police officer has been placed on unpaid leave and his wife was arrested when she approached the police chief about the situation.
Further details about the case were not released.
We have reached out to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations in an effort to find out whether state officials are looking into the case.