[OH] Rev. Ward on Cleveland Police Review Board charged multiple times in past for domestic violence

...[Rev. Eugene Ward Jr.'s wife] said it was the third time he had assaulted her that year. Ward denied choking her... Officers took pictures of injuries to her neck and confiscated the phone cord and ripped clothing... In 2007, he was again charged with domestic violence...

CLEVELAND POLICE REVIEW BOARD MEMBER WAS CONVICTED OF BEATING WIFE

The Plain Dealer

By Rachel Dissell

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

[Excerpts] The Rev. Eugene Ward Jr., a member of a citizen panel soon to take on greater oversight of police investigations into sex crimes and missing persons cases in Cleveland, was convicted of assaulting his wife and violating a protection order. Ward joined the Civilian Police Review Board in 2010 - four years after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault. His wife said he choked her with a phone cord and ripped off her clothes. City officials said they were aware of the charge but not all the specific details. Cleveland Safety Director Marty Flask said he doesn't have a problem with Ward's position on the board... Denise Zeman, a fellow board member and president and CEO of Saint Luke's Foundation, said she doesn't know anything about Ward's personal affairs... Ward, 57, a police chaplain and pastor, CEO and bishop of Greater Love Missionary Full Gospel Baptist Church, was initially charged with domestic violence in 2005... [His wife] said it was the third time he had assaulted her that year. Ward denied choking her and told police he accidentally knocked her down some stairs after she started fighting with him. Antoinette Sims-Ward told police she ran to a neighbor's house with only an overcoat on because her nightgown and underwear were ripped off during the scuffle. Officers took pictures of injuries to her neck and confiscated the phone cord and ripped clothing. Ward was convicted in Cleveland Municipal Court of a lesser assault charge and later of violating a protection order that forbade him from contact with his wife. He served a period of probation and was ordered to attend counseling sessions and abstain from alcohol. In 2007, he was again charged with domestic violence against Sims-Ward and indicted by a grand jury. The case was eventually dismissed. According to a police report, Ward was arrested after another argument with his wife became physical. She told police that Ward placed his hands around her neck and said, "I should just kill you"... The case was dismissed after his wife did not show up for multiple court dates... [Full article here]

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