MARTINSBURG - A Martinsburg City Police Officer has been placed on administrative leave after several witnesses saw him attack a man while he was off-duty.

Lieutenant John Sherman has been charged with battery.

According to court documents, he confronted Larry "Tike" Murphy at a field near the Martinsburg Church of Christ last Thursday.

Murphy told state troopers that Lieutenant Sherman punched him in the face, pounded him on the back, and ripped his shirt.

He was shouting at him for sending messages to his wife on Facebook and MySpace, Murphy told investigators.

Lieutenant Sherman later admitted to investigators that he was angry about the messages.  It's not clear what they said.

"Mr. Sherman advised he did not believe it was right that another man was communicating with his wife by internet sending some of the things he was sending to her," the investigators wrote in the charging documents.  "The defendant did not elaborate to the content of the messages, but advised he did not feel it was right that another man was communicating the way he was with his wife."

Both men's wives are best friends, according to the charging documents.

Sherman posted bond today.  He'll be paid while he is on leave, according to Police Chief Ted Anderson. 

The Martinsburg Police Department has also launched an administrative investigation into the incident, Chief Anderson said in  a release.

Sherman faced another administrative investigation in 2000 after he shot a robbery suspect in 2000.  He was clear of any wrongdoing.