An Orange County Board of Education administrator is accused of choking and stomping on a 20-year-old neighbor in the middle of the street during a road rage incident last year, according to a lawsuit.
Dr. Ken Williams Jr., who serves District 3 and is running for reelection in the March 5 primary election, is accused of kicking the man's car, throwing him to the ground and climbing on top of him before putting his hands on him. hands around the neck. .
The lawsuit alleges that Williams, 65, left the driver, Caden O'Malley, struggling and “unable to walk” on a 55 mile per hour highway in Mission Viejo.
“Caden, struggling, somehow crawled to the side of the road to call for emergency medical assistance,” the lawsuit reads.
Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office, said both Williams and O'Malley were cited for assault and battery after they were interviewed by county sheriff's deputies.
“Based on the totality of the evidence, our prosecutor determined that he could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt who the primary aggressor was,” Edds wrote in an email, characterizing the incident as “[m]mutual combat with valid arguments of self-defense on the part of both.”
Phone records obtained by The Times confirmed that O'Malley called paramedics on March 11, 2023 at 1:32 p.m. The incident report notes that a driver “physically assaulted” O'Malley, “stepped on his leg.” and he left”.
O'Malley and his attorney did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
In a brief interview with The Times, Williams confirmed the lawsuit Friday but said he could not comment on the details of the incident on the advice of his attorney. Williams declined to provide the name of her attorney.
Dr. Ken Williams Jr. serves on the Orange County Board of Education and is up for re-election on the March 5 primary ballot.
(Los Angeles Times)
Williams, who was first elected to the OC Board of Education in 1996, accused his political opponents of using the filing of the lawsuit against him.
“My political opponents are many,” he said. “My opponents are using this.”
Williams said people came after him during his re-election campaign for his stance on “protecting the innocence of children, charter schools and staying away from conscious curriculum, like critical race theory, that would harm the relationship between parents.” and sons”.
Williams said in a statement that he has faced personal attacks because of his political stance.
“My political opponent(s) in this campaign and election cycle have no message to voters on March 5 other than attacking my personal and professional career and character,” the statement read. “The woke left attacks me because I oppose defunding the police, my public positions in favor of law enforcement and public order, and I oppose weakening criminal laws.”
When asked if he believed the lawsuit was politically motivated, Williams said he was “not saying that” but that his opponents were using the information against him and contacting his political supporters to remove their endorsement.
Williams' endorsements include the Orange County Republican Party, Sheriff Don Barnes and the Orange County Registrar, among others.
According to his OC Board of Education online profile, Williams is also a sheriff's reserve with the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
“Ken's passion for public safety and protecting children and families from violence is his primary public policy effort as an elected administrator,” his profile said. “He strongly supports safe schools and anti-bullying educational programs.”
Cases involving reserve officers or other law enforcement officers are typically handled by the district attorney's Special Prosecution Unit, but Edds said the initial police report made no mention of Williams being a reserve officer.
“As such, it was reviewed by a line officer without being elevated to the district attorney,” Edds wrote in an email.
The lawsuit alleges that the violent encounter began on Crystal Canyon Road, where Williams, driving a Cadillac Escalade, saw O'Malley's Volkswagen Golf TDI stopped and blocking the road.
It's unclear if the two knew each other before the encounter, but property records indicate the drivers were neighbors and lived just a couple of blocks away from each other.
The two drivers turned onto El Toro Road, where Williams allegedly “hit the brakes.” O'Malley stopped and attempted to pass Williams on the left side when Williams began accelerating and blocking O'Malley's path, according to the lawsuit.
“[Williams] “He continued to pull his large Escalade in front of Caden and slammed on the brakes,” the lawsuit said.
The two stopped and the lawsuit alleges that Williams walked toward O'Malley, kicked his Golf and yelled insults while O'Malley remained in the car.
O'Malley got out of his car to take a photo of Williams' license plate when the trustee “lunged at Caden and knocked the cell phone out of his hand,” according to the lawsuit.
Williams allegedly threw O'Malley to the ground, climbed on top of him and choked him. Williams allegedly left the scene and O'Malley left the road.
According to the Orange County Fire Authority incident report, O'Malley was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The lawsuit alleges that O'Malley suffered “significant mental injuries” as a result of the incident and seeks damages in excess of $25,000.
