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NEW RINGGOLD, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania police officer who claimed she was attacked and thrown down a highway embankment after checking out a parked car has been accused of making up the reported incident.
State police said Wednesday that West Penn Township Officer Melissa Ruch faces multiple misdemeanor counts of making false reports.
Ruch denies the charges. She tells The Associated Press "the truth will come out."
The 41-year-old officer had claimed she was attacked by a large man during the reported encounter Sept. 2 along a state highway.
State police found inconsistences in her account. Witnesses reported she was alone at the time she called in a traffic stop.
After the reported attack, Ruch was flown to a hospital and area roads were shut down for a manhunt.
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