Sandy MaloneHazard, KY – The Owsley County sheriff has been arrested after he jumped into the fray during a brawl at a girls’ high school basketball game he was helping coach (video below).
Kentucky State Police (KSP) said the incident occurred on Dec. 3 during the game between Owsley County High School and Perry County Central High School, the Associated Press reported.
Owsley County Sheriff Brent Lynch, 47, is an assistant coach on the Owsley County High School girls’ basketball team.
Video showed the game was in its 3rd Quarter and Perry County Central was beating Owsley County 50-39 when a fight broke out between players on the court over a loose ball.
The girls wrestling for the ball began fighting and more players jumped into the fray as coaches began come to the court from the bench to intervene, the video showed.
Referees and other players pulled the fighters apart and a few got to their feet and began throwing punches at each other.
The fight continued to grow in size and more adults slowly made their way toward the ruckus.
That was when Sheriff Lynch came running into the fray from his team’s bench on the other end of the court, the video showed.
The video showed the sheriff throwing punches in the midst of the brawl before other adults pulled him out of the mix.
It took multiple adult men to get Sheriff Lynch on the sidelines while other adults broke up the fight between the players, the video showed.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Matthew Gayheart told reporters that Sheriff Lynch allegedly struck a Perry County Central player during the melee, the Associated Press reported.
State police investigated and a warrant was issued for Sheriff Lynch’s arrest for fourth-degree assault.
The state police said that they asked the sheriff to turn himself in on Dec. 8 but he did not, WKYT reported.
Sheriff Lynch was arrested by deputies from his own department on Dec. 9 and booked into the Three Forks Regional Jail in Lee County, the Associated Press reported.
If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail and a fine, TMZ reported.
Owsley County Schools Superintendent Tim Bobrowski told reporters that Sheriff Lynch was suspended from coaching for one game, the Associated Press reported.
Bobrowski also said both teams suspended four student-athletes for two games.
Sheriff Lynch became the top cop in Owsley County in January of 2019, TMZ reported.
He was a Kentucky state trooper before he was elected sheriff.
The New York Post reported that it was unclear whether Sheriff Lynch’s status has changed with the Owsley County Sheriff’s Office.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below:
Holly Matkin
