Acton allegedly had a conflict with her husband, shattered mirror while drinking in 2019
Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton had a “domestic dispute” with her husband inside their home while allegedly drinking in August 2019, according to a new report.
Police in Bexley dispatched to the home at 9:45 p.m. on the evening in question, wrote in their report that Acton, who was the director of the state’s Department of Health at the time, allegedly pulled a mirror off the wall, “shattering the glass,” when she “became upset” because she felt her husband “was antagonizing her,” according to NBC News.
The police report that was obtained by the news source indicated that Acton told the officers that she had been drinking, had taken an unknown amount of prescription drugs, and was about to drive away in her car. Her husband, however, allegedly convinced her it was a bad idea.
When a medic at the scene told Acton to go to a hospital, she allegedly “refused” to do it, according to the report. The police officers eventually concluded that there wasn’t any evidence of physical violence between Acton and her husband, only a “verbal argument over her extended work hours.”
In November’s gubernatorial election, Acton is likely to face Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, a billionaire entrepreneur endorsed by President Donald Trump and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who appointed Acton to the Department of Health post.
Acton’s campaign disputed and clarified the police report while speaking with NBC News, saying that Acton was not “intoxicated” and only had one drink and that she never pulled the mirror from the wall, instead bumping “into a wall hanging which fell” during a “verbal disagreement regarding her long work hours.” The campaign then said that she allegedly went to bed right after that and was asleep when police arrived.
The campaign also said that the medications that were referenced in the police report were prescribed by her doctor and that she’s been taking them for years, and that Acton didn’t need to go to a hospital because there was no “harm, injury, or impairment.”
“Amy Acton worked around the clock on behalf of Ohioans while serving as Health Director,” Acton spokesperson Addie Bullock told NBC News.
Acton’s campaign did not respond to Ohio.News’ request for additional comments on the report.
Dan Tierney, DeWine’s spokesperson, told NBC News that DeWine “was unaware of both the 2019 incident and the associated police report involving Dr. Acton.”
“The Governor holds his staff to the highest standards of conduct. Given that the allegations in the report are deeply troubling, Governor DeWine would have expected Dr. Acton to have, at that time, promptly disclosed this to him, and he is very disappointed that it did not occur,” he told NBC.
Tierney did not respond to an Ohio.News request for additional comments on the report.
DeWine previously praised Acton and defended her lockdown decisions during 2020, saying that the buck stops with him.
Many Republicans, including Donald Trump Jr., Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou, and Ohio Young Republicans, criticized Acton after reading the NBC News report. Separately, Acton is facing renewed scrutiny for her actions as head of the state’s health department during the COVID-19 pandemic.
