The Merrillville Police Department has put on unpaid leave an officer who the Lake County Sheriff’s Department arrested for domestic battery.
Merrillville Police Chief Kosta Nuses said in a release Thursday that the department is cooperating fully with the Sheriff’s Department as well as conducting an internal investigation into the arrest of Ofc. Ryan Kenneth Kijurna, 32, early Thursday morning. The department “believes in transparency and accountability,” Nuses said.
“We take these allegations very seriously and are committed to upholding the highest standards of conduct within our department,” Nuses said.
Lake County officers at around 10 p.m. October 16 were called to the 5600 block of W. 171st Avenue in Lowell to investigate screaming coming from a residence, Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said in a Thursday release. They arrived in the area and made contact with Kijurna and his fiancee, Martinez said.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Unit is handling the investigation, and no further information is available at this time, Martinez said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
