A report filed by a deputy investigating a woman’s claim that she was assaulted by a Franklin County judge’s former bailiff says the bailiff said she “did not recall” parts of the incident.
The report, obtained by The Dispatch through a public records request, details what happened around 3:30 p.m. on March 24 in the hallway outside Franklin County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Monica Hawkins’ courtroom.
Video of the incident shows Hawkins’ bailiff, Kelli Johnson, pushing a woman and smacking a phone out of her hands. Johnson is not currently facing any criminal charges.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s office report has redacted Johnson’s name and that of the other woman involved.
Based on the context of the report summary, Johnson appears to have told a deputy investigating the incident that she “put her arms out to keep (redacted) out of (redacted) personal space.” That same person then told the deputy they “did not recall what happened after that point,” according to the redacted report.
Johnson has not returned calls seeking comment about the incident.
Courtroom video matches woman’s account of being pushed
The other woman involved in the situation spoke to The Dispatch on April 7 about the incident. The Dispatch is not naming the woman because of her concerns about the impact of the situation on an ongoing court case she is involved in.
The woman, who is 49, told The Dispatch she had gone to juvenile court to file a complaint about a court-appointed guardian ad litem in her ongoing case and was directed to Hawkins’ courtroom. When she got to the courtroom, she met Johnson, who she said did not seem interested in taking her complaint.
The woman said Johnson rolled her eyes, which the other woman took as a sign of having an attitude. She said she and Johnson exchanged words and she called Johnson incompetent during that exchange. She said she then went to leave the courtroom.
Johnson followed her out of the courtroom, the other woman said, and pushed her. The woman told Johnson she would report her and Johnson pushed her again, the woman said.
The hallway video supports the woman’s account of being pushed twice.
The woman said she got her cell phone out to try and record Johnson, at which point Johnson smacked the phone out of her hand, which is also shown on the video.
“I was yelling for the police and I did tell her that I was going to file charges,” the other woman said. “I’m allowed to say that.”
The other woman said − and the sheriff’s office report confirms − that another person witnessed the encounter in the hallway and corroborates the woman’s version of events.
Johnson resigned on March 30 from her role as Hawkins’ bailiff, which she had held since Hawkins became a Franklin county Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge in 2018.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sheriff’s report reveals new details about Franklin County courthouse altercation
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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