Police internal affairs looking into August holding cell incident

COLUMBIA — An internal affairs investigation into an incident that took place in mid-August in a holding cell of the Columbia Police Department is nearing a conclusion, police said Tuesday.

Columbia Police spokeswoman Sgt. Jill Wieneke declined to describe the incident because it's under investigation. She said the officer involved had been placed on administrative leave.

Though there was no complaint filed by the man who was being held in the cell, internal affairs Capt. Dianne Bernhard reviewed video surveillance of that cell and was concerned about what she'd seen. She then brought the video to the attention of Police Chief Ken Burton.

Burton said he expected the investigation to be completed early this week then granted an extension to the internal affairs investigators who are looking into the incident.

Wieneke said she didn’t know how much longer the investigation would take but said Burton wanted no further delays in the process.

“When the chief says this a priority, it’s the first thing in line,” Wieneke said.