Butler Twp. officer accused of punching woman to make court appearance today

VANDALIA — The Butler Township police sergeant who punched a woman outside a McDonald’s in the township in January, while trying to take her into custody, will appear in court today.

>>PREVIOUS STORY: Police officer who punched woman outside McDonald’s is due in court next week

Sgt. Todd Stanley, charged with misdemeanor assault stemming from the incident, will appear in Vandalia Municipal Court at 9 a.m. this morning, according to online court records. He was arraigned on April 20.

News Center 7 previously reported back in April that Sgt. Stanley remained on administrative leave as the Department of Justice investigation was not complete and the Butler Twp. Police Department internal investigation was ongoing, according to Butler Twp. Police Chief John Porter.

>>ORIGINAL COVERAGE: Video showing Butler Twp. officer punching person multiple times during arrest under investigation

“We can provide no further comment due to the ongoing investigations,” Chief Porter said back in April regarding the Jan. 16 incident.

A bystander’s video showed an officer punching a woman multiple times during an arrest at a McDonalds on York Commons Boulevard on the afternoon of Jan. 16.

>>RELATED: Butler Twp. sergeant on leave after video shows him punching woman during arrest

Porter confirmed the video and identified the officers involved in the call as Sgt. Stanley and Officer Tim Zellers. Stanley has been with the department 22 1/2 years, while Zellers has been with the department for 2 1/2 years. Neither officer had any previous reprimands in their files, according to Porter.

>> RELATED: Demonstrators gather at McDonald’s where police officer punched woman

>> RELATED: Request to have someone removed from property can result in trip to jail

>> RELATED: Woman punched by police officer outside McDonald’s speaks with reporter

News Center 7 is following the Stanley case and will update this story with details as we learn more.

©2023 Cox Media Group