Isaac Rinehart was arrested Tuesday at the Maplewood Police Department. (Courtesy photo: Ramsey County sheriff's office)A woman walked into the Maplewood Police Department on Monday night, reported that her husband had assaulted her and said he was a St. Paul police officer.
She had visible injuries to her face, Maplewood police Chief Dave Thomalla said Tuesday. About 90 minutes later, officer Isaac Rinehart came to the police department and was arrested.
Maplewood police cited him for misdemeanor domestic assault, and he was booked into the Ramsey County jail.
The woman, whom Thomalla didn't name, told police she and Rinehart had been arguing, Thomalla said. Rinehart, 42, struck her face with his hands or fists, the woman reported.
A man who answered the phone at Rinehart's home Tuesday said Rinehart wasn't available and hung up.
St. Paul police have relieved Rinehart, a K-9 officer, of his regular assignment and placed him in an administrative position pending the outcome of the case, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, police spokesman.
He's also the subject of an internal affairs investigation after his K-9 partner bit a 13-year-old boy when Rinehart was off duty in March. A lawyer for the boy has filed a notice of claim with the city.
On Monday night, Rinehart's wife walked about three-quarters of a mile to the Maplewood police station from a home in the 2000 block of Barclay Avenue in Maplewood, where Thomalla said the assault happened and which Rinehart lists as his address.
Paramedics took the woman to St. John's Hospital, where she was evaluated and released,
Thomalla said.
Rinehart was arrested at the Maplewood police station at 11:40 p.m. Monday, according to the Ramsey County jail log. He was booked into the jail at 12:09 a.m. Tuesday and made his first court appearance later that day.
A judge denied Rinehart's request for a public defender, ordered Rinehart not to have contact with the victim and set bail at $1,000, which Rinehart posted. He was released pending a July 27 court appearance.
Rinehart, a St. Paul officer since 1994, has been in the canine unit since March 2007. He and his K-9 partner, Sarik, were among the St. Paul officers featured in Animal Planet's "K9 Cops."
South St. Paul police investigated after Sarik bit a 13-year-old in that city in March. The case was closed, and no citation was issued.
Mitch Fitzgerald needed three stitches on his lip and 13 on his arm, according to his mother, Terri Fitzgerald. She has said Mitch was standing near a water tower close to his home when Sarik ran up to him, knocked him down and started biting him.
St. Paul police began an internal affairs investigation in March and it continues, Schnell said Tuesday.
In December 2007, Sarik slipped from Rinehart's grasp while he was responding to a fight call in downtown St. Paul and bit a man who wasn't involved, according to a police incident report.
Rinehart's personnel file shows 16 commendations and four instances of discipline. Three were oral or written reprimands and one was a four-day suspension in 1996 for conduct unbecoming an officer.
She had visible injuries to her face, Maplewood police Chief Dave Thomalla said Tuesday. About 90 minutes later, officer Isaac Rinehart came to the police department and was arrested.
Maplewood police cited him for misdemeanor domestic assault, and he was booked into the Ramsey County jail.
The woman, whom Thomalla didn't name, told police she and Rinehart had been arguing, Thomalla said. Rinehart, 42, struck her face with his hands or fists, the woman reported.
A man who answered the phone at Rinehart's home Tuesday said Rinehart wasn't available and hung up.
St. Paul police have relieved Rinehart, a K-9 officer, of his regular assignment and placed him in an administrative position pending the outcome of the case, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, police spokesman.
He's also the subject of an internal affairs investigation after his K-9 partner bit a 13-year-old boy when Rinehart was off duty in March. A lawyer for the boy has filed a notice of claim with the city.
On Monday night, Rinehart's wife walked about three-quarters of a mile to the Maplewood police station from a home in the 2000 block of Barclay Avenue in Maplewood, where Thomalla said the assault happened and which Rinehart lists as his address.
Paramedics took the woman to St. John's Hospital, where she was evaluated and released,
Thomalla said.
Rinehart was arrested at the Maplewood police station at 11:40 p.m. Monday, according to the Ramsey County jail log. He was booked into the jail at 12:09 a.m. Tuesday and made his first court appearance later that day.
A judge denied Rinehart's request for a public defender, ordered Rinehart not to have contact with the victim and set bail at $1,000, which Rinehart posted. He was released pending a July 27 court appearance.
Rinehart, a St. Paul officer since 1994, has been in the canine unit since March 2007. He and his K-9 partner, Sarik, were among the St. Paul officers featured in Animal Planet's "K9 Cops."
South St. Paul police investigated after Sarik bit a 13-year-old in that city in March. The case was closed, and no citation was issued.
Mitch Fitzgerald needed three stitches on his lip and 13 on his arm, according to his mother, Terri Fitzgerald. She has said Mitch was standing near a water tower close to his home when Sarik ran up to him, knocked him down and started biting him.
St. Paul police began an internal affairs investigation in March and it continues, Schnell said Tuesday.
In December 2007, Sarik slipped from Rinehart's grasp while he was responding to a fight call in downtown St. Paul and bit a man who wasn't involved, according to a police incident report.
Rinehart's personnel file shows 16 commendations and four instances of discipline. Three were oral or written reprimands and one was a four-day suspension in 1996 for conduct unbecoming an officer.
