Iowa police officer charged after threatening to shoot her girlfriend, authorities say

An Oskaloosa police officer was charged last week after she pulled a knife on her girlfriend and threatened to shoot her in their home, authorities said.

Janay Pritchett, 25, of Oskaloosa, threatened to shoot her girlfriend with a shotgun at about 11:40 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of North Ninth Street, running toward a closet where she kept an unloaded shotgun before her girlfriend stopped her, according to court documents.

Pritchett was charged with domestic abuse assault while displaying or using a weapon and harassment.

The officer's girlfriend told police the two were arguing when Pritchett kicked her in the chest and pulled a small pocketknife on her, cutting on the left side of her neck, according to a criminal complaint.

The woman stopped Pritchett when she said she was going to kill her and ran to the closet, court records say. The woman told police she was scared for her life.

Reached by the Register, the Oskaloosa patrol officer of 2½ years didn't comment. She did not have an attorney listed in court records.

Oskaloosa Police Chief Jake McGee said Pritchett was placed on paid administrative leave after she was arrested. He declined to comment on her record within the department.

She has not been charged before in Iowa, online records show.

Pritchett told officers she did not cut her girlfriend or pull out a knife, according to the complaint. The two were both involved in the altercation that included pushing, grabbing and wrestling, she told police.

She also said she injured her back after being pushed and wanted her girlfriend arrested.

The woman stopped Pritchett from leaving the home that night because she had been drinking before a friend picked her up, she told police. The girlfriend then went to authorities to file a report.

A no-contact order has been issued. After Pritchett was arrested, she posted a $4,000 bond and was released.

In a letter filed in court, Pritchett's girlfriend wrote she would no longer live or stay at their residence. She asked to be accompanied by an officer when she returned to retrieve personal items from the home.

Pritchett's preliminary hearing was scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Mahaska County Courthouse.

The Mahaska County Sheriff's Office is conducting the criminal investigation, while the police department is undergoing its own internal investigation, the chief said.

Pritchett is the lone female officer for Oskaloosa police. McGee does not expect her paid leave to affect the force, he said.

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