School board member fired from NC police force over ‘detrimental personal conduct’
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Sex, blackmail and local politics: The extortion trial of JoCo school board member Ronald Johnson
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Johnston County school board member Ronald Johnson has been fired from his job as a Smithfield Police detective due to his “detrimental personal conduct.”
In a termination notice on Friday, Smithfield Town Manager Michael Scott told Johnson he was being fired for actions such as sending inappropriate texts of a sexual nature, using Police Department equipment for non-police matters and not being truthful about a harassment order he had filed.
Scott said Police Chief Keith Powell had already recommended that Johnson, a 17-year officer, be fired.
“Based on my review of the relevant information, including the recommendation of Chief Powell, the documents that you provided to Chief Powell and myself, and the recent news articles, this letter serves as notification that you are being terminated from your Police Department position with the Town of Smithfield effective immediately on Friday, October 14, 2022,” Scott wrote.
Johnson had been placed on administrative leave on July 5 while Smithfield Police conducted an internal investigation.
Johnson said in an email Monday morning that he’d have a response later in the day. No response had been received as of 5 p.m. Monday.
Censured by school board
Johnson’s dismissal comes as the school board has censured him twice in the past two months. The board has asked Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle to try to remove Johnson from office.
On Aug. 24, the school board voted 6-1 to censure Johnson on accusations of violating board policy by secretly recording conversations among board members. He also is accused of trying to have two special-education students removed from a school due to his personal issues with a parent.
On Oct. 6, the board again voted 6-1 to censure Johnson for violating school policy by sending texts during school board meetings about wanting to have a relationship with a female school employee.
In one text exchange with then-school board attorney Jimmy Lawrence, Johnson texted about the employee “wearing the hell out of that blue dress” and “I’m feeling a relationship.” At another meeting, Johnson texted “open invitation to the one in purple” when he saw the employee again in the audience.
Johnson has admitted sending the texts and called them a “lapse of judgment.”
Standards of conduct
In the termination notice, Scott says Johnson was told on Oct. 5 that Powell was recommending that he be fired based on violations of the town employee handbook and Police Department General Orders regarding standards of conduct. Even before that meeting, Scott says Johnson was informed that violating these policies could lead to dismissal.
Citing personnel laws, Scott and Smithfield Police did not provide additional comment Monday.
The notice refers to what it calls a personal matter in which it says Johnson obtained a no-contact order known as a 50C when he should have known to seek a different kind of no-contact order known as a 50B.
In June, Johnson had filed a complaint seeking a 50C no-contact order against a woman he said was stalking him with unwelcome sexual conduct and harassment. He later dropped the complaint.
A 50B order is used when the plaintiff has had a personal, intimate, or familial relationship with the defendant. According to the letter, Johnson told Scott he had sought a 50C order after talking with a fellow detective.
‘Detrimental Personal Conduct’
After the board voted to censure Johnson on Oct. 6 about the texts, Scott said he told Johnson that “I believed that this conduct could rise to a level of Detrimental Personal Conduct, Article IX, Section 101 and 102 of the Smithfield Employee Handbook, and could result in disciplinary action up and including dismissal.”
This led to an extended meeting on Oct. 12 between Scott and Johnson. Scott says Johnson was again warned that “his recent conduct appeared to represent Detrimental Personal Conduct.”
“During this meeting we again discussed at length your request to obtain a 50C no contact order as opposed to a 50B no contact order and the Town’s emphasis on truthfulness,” Scott wrote. “We also discussed the use of Police Department equipment for non-police matters, including the usage of your Police computer.”
In July, Johnson had released a statement saying “there were poor decisions that were made in my personal life, but they do not define me in my position as an advocate of the stakeholders of JCPS.”
Outspoken board member
Johnson was elected to the school board in 2016 and re-elected in 2020 as the top vote-getter.
Johnson made waves in 2019 and 2020 accusing school district leaders of engaging in corrupt behavior.
Johnson also made national headlines in 2021 spearheading a new school board policy that puts rules on how teachers can discuss race and racism. For instance, the policy says students can’t be taught that racism is a permanent part of American life.
Johnson, a Republican, has been working with a group of conservative school board candidates to get them elected this year.
Johnson provided two school board candidates with a secretly recorded conversation that they say shows the district tried to hide public funds from the Johnston County Board of Commissioners. The school district denies the allegation.
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 10:15 AM with the headline "School board member fired from NC police force over ‘detrimental personal conduct’."
