Man taken into custody after assault on Gnadenhutten police chief

GNADENHUTTEN ‒ Police Chief Dennis Moody suffered a broken nose after he was involved in a scuffle Tuesday at Gnadenhutten's boat ramp on the Tuscarawas River.

Moody was at home at around 4:30 p.m. when he got a call about a fight between juveniles at the intersection of Tuscarawas Avenue and Cherry Street. He responded to the call wearing plain clothes and not his uniform, he told Times-Reporter on Friday.

He went to the scene, where he asked a man if he was involved in a fight. "He started cussing me and asked if I wanted to fight," Moody said. The chief then left, and drove down to the boat ramp.

At the ramp, he found four people there, and he asked them if they were involved in a fight. While Moody was talking with them, the man he had previously encountered showed up and began make threats, the chief said.

"One thing led to another, and he took a swing at me," Moody said. "I got a broken nose. I don't know what the issue was with him."

Soon after deputies from the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office arrived and took the man into custody. The suspect has not been charged yet. The Tuscarawas County Prosecutor's Office will take the case to the grand jury.

Moody was taken to Trinity Hospital Twin City in Dennison for treatment. He received three stitches in his nose. He has been off work since that time.

He has been a police officer since 2001 and has worked in Gnadenhutten for almost 20 years. He has been chief for about seven years.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before," Moody said.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Man taken into custody after assault on Gnadenhutten police chief