Columbia Police Chief Joe Edwards

Columbia Police Chief Joe Edwards has been placed on paid administrative leave while the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department conducts an investigation into a domestic matter involving his family.

Edwards was placed on leave Friday, Columbia Mayor Kevin Hutchinson confirmed with the Republic-Times over the weekend.

“He is not to act as a police officer or chief,” Hutchinson said.

Deputy Chief of Police Jerry Paul will serve as acting chief for the time being, according to Hutchinson. Paul, 48, is a 22-year veteran of the Columbia Police Department. He has served in the capacity of Deputy Chief of Police in Columbia for 11 years.

Edwards is recently divorced with two teenage daughters. The issue being investigated stems from an ongoing child custody dispute, police said.

“We were asked to investigate a matter involving Chief Edwards. We handled it just like any other case,” Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing said on Saturday. “I don’t want to comment any further and possibly compromise the integrity of the investigation.”

The MCSD is investigating only because Illinois State Police declined to handle the case due to the recent disbanding of its Public Integrity Unit.

“Basically, we’re the last one standing on this,” Rohlfing said.

Given the nature of the parties involved, Monroe County State’s Attorney Kris Reitz has requested a special prosecutor to review the case, the sheriff added.

The case has been forwarded to the Illinois Office of the State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor for review. If charges against Edwards are warranted, a special prosecutor would then be chosen and the case will move forward.

The Department of Child and Family Services is also involved in the matter, Rohlfing confirmed, but that investigation is separate from the one his department is handling.

Edwards has served as police chief in Columbia since 2003, replacing Gene Henckler upon his retirement.

The major cases that have occurred since Edwards has been chief include the Coleman family murders on Robert Drive in May 2009, the case involving Elyse Mamino in which she attempted to drown her newborn baby girl in a toilet during a family gathering in November 2008, and the murder of Columbia High School student Erin Schneider by her ex-boyfriend, Jordan Kuykendall, on South Riebeling Street in June 2013.

Last year, Edwards was appointed to be commander of the Southern Illinois Child Death Investigation Task Force, which covers the southern 34 counties of Illinois.

The task force is utilized in an investigation any time the death of a child occurs, bringing together a variety of law enforcement personnel and specialists.