An Orange County Board of Training trustee is accused of choking and stepping on a 20-year-old neighbor in the midst of the road throughout a highway rage incident final yr, based on a lawsuit.
Dr. Ken Williams Jr., who serves in District 3 and is up for reelection on the March 5 primary ballot, is accused of kicking the person’s automotive, throwing him on the bottom and climbing on high of him earlier than placing his fingers round his neck.
The lawsuit alleges that the 65-year-old Williams left the driving force, Caden O’Malley, struggling and “unable to stroll” on a 55-mile-per-hour roadway in Mission Viejo.
“Caden, struggling, by some means crawled to the aspect of the highway to name for emergency medical help,” the go well with reads.
Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the Orange County district lawyer’s workplace, stated each Williams and O’Malley had been cited for assault and battery after they had been interviewed by county sheriff’s deputies.
“Primarily based on the totality of the proof, our prosecutor decided he was unable to show past an affordable doubt who the first aggressor was,” Edds wrote in an e-mail, characterizing the incident as “[m]utual fight with legitimate self-defense argument by each.”
Telephone data obtained by The Instances confirmed O’Malley known as paramedics on March 11, 2023, at 1:32 p.m. The incident report notes a driver “bodily assaulted” O’Malley, “stepped on his leg” and “took off.”
O’Malley and his lawyer didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark.
In a quick interview with The Instances, Williams confirmed the lawsuit Friday, however stated he was unable to touch upon specifics of the incident on the recommendation of his lawyer. Williams declined to supply the title of his lawyer.
Dr. Ken Williams Jr. serves on the Orange County Board of Training and is up for reelection on the March 5 main poll.
(Los Angeles Instances)
Williams, who was first elected to the O.C. Board of Training in 1996, has accused his political opponents of utilizing the submitting of the lawsuit towards him.
“My political opponents are many,” he stated. “My opponents are utilizing this.”
Williams stated individuals have gone after him throughout his reelection marketing campaign for his stance on “defending the innocence of kids, charter schools and staying away from the woke curriculum reminiscent of critical race theory that might hurt the parent-child relationship.”
Williams stated in a press release that he has confronted private assaults due to his political stance.
“My political opponent(s) on this marketing campaign and election cycle don’t have any message to voters on March fifth aside from to assault my private {and professional} profession, and character,” the assertion learn. “The woke left assaults me as a result of I oppose defunding the police, my pro-law enforcement and law-and-order public positions, and oppose weakening legal legal guidelines.”
Requested if he believed the lawsuit was politically motivated, Williams stated he “wasn’t saying that,” however that his opponents had been utilizing the knowledge towards him and reaching out to political supporters to take away their endorsements.
Williams’ endorsements embody the Orange County Republican Occasion, Sheriff Don Barnes and the Orange County Register amongst others.
In response to his on-line O.C. Board of Education profile, Williams can also be a sheriff’s reserve with the Orange County Sheriff’s Division.
“Ken’s ardour for public security and safety of kids and households from violence is his main public coverage effort as an elected trustee,” his profile stated. “He strongly helps secure faculties and anti-bullying teaching programs.”
Circumstances involving reserve deputies or different peace officers are usually dealt with by the district lawyer’s Particular Prosecutions Unit, however Edds stated the preliminary police report didn’t make any point out of Williams being a reserve deputy.
“As such, it was reviewed by a line deputy with out being additional elevated to the district lawyer,” Edds wrote in an e-mail.
The lawsuit alleges that the violent encounter started on Crystal Canyon Street, the place Williams, driving in a Cadillac Escalade, noticed O’Malley’s Volkswagen Golf TDI stopped and blocking the highway.
It’s unclear whether or not the 2 knew one another earlier than the encounter, however property data point out the drivers had been neighbors, residing simply a few streets away from one another.
The 2 drivers was El Toro Street, the place Williams allegedly “slammed on his brakes.” O’Malley stopped and tried to move Williams on the left aspect when Williams started to hurry up and block O’Malley from passing, based on the go well with.
“[Williams] continued to drag his giant Escalade in entrance of Caden and slam on his brakes,” the go well with learn.
The 2 of them pulled over, and the go well with alleges Williams walked over to O’Malley, kicking his Golf and screaming insults whereas O’Malley remained within the automotive.
O’Malley exited his automotive to take an image of Williams’ license plate when the trustee “got here dashing at Caden, smacking his cellphone out of his hand,” based on the go well with.
Williams allegedly threw O’Malley to the bottom, climbed on high of him and choked him. Williams allegedly left the scene and O’Malley on the roadway.
In response to the incident report from the Orange County Hearth Authority, O’Malley was taken to a close-by hospital to be handled.
The lawsuit alleges O’Malley suffered “vital and psychological accidents” from the incident and is asking for damages in extra of $25,000.
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