Tempers flared as one city official grabbed another in Franklin Township. Now, one trustee says it began over a dispute about trash service.
It's supposed to be the place Franklin Township leaders figure out how to keep law and order. But last week, an argument pushed two trustees into a physical confrontation.
An off-handed remark about township trash service started the incident. In a video obtained by 10TV, 58-year-old Trustee Tim Guyton gets up, rounds his table, and grabs 78-year-old Don Cook by the neck. Cook then pushes Guyton away as a third trustee steps in to break things up.
Cook called it assault and filed a police report. In the report, Cook says Guyton referred to him as a clown and then, "put his right hand on me behind my left shoulder, then around my neck and started to squeeze my neck very hard."
Cook tells 10TV he would like to talk about what happened to him, but a township lawyer told him not to talk.
For his part, Guyton tells 10TV by phone that he reacted because Cook called him a foul name. But Guyton says he understands that he was out of line and says, "I should not have put my hand on his neck. It is unfortunate."
Local attorneys couldn't say whether the case will be prosecuted. However, the Franklin Township police chief says he thinks that it is unlikely.