COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton's team says that a "domestic dispute" that resulted in police coming to her home in 2019 was just a simple argument between a husband and wife. The person who called 911 was likely concerned for Acton's safety, they said.
Back in 2019, while Acton was Ohio's health director, police were called to her home in Bexley, a Columbus suburb.
A police report states that there was a "domestic dispute," and that Acton and her husband had allegedly gotten in a “verbal argument” over her “extended work hours.”
The report, first publicized by NBC News, states that Acton felt her husband was “antagonizing” her, and while walking down the stairs, she “grabbed hold of the mirror on the wall and pulled it down, shattering the glass."
The report states that both Acton and her husband had admitted to drinking earlier and that “Acton stated that she had taken an unknown amount of prescription medication.” Police wrote that Acton told them that she wanted to leave, and had gone into the garage, but her husband talked her out of it.
According to the report, a Columbus Fire Medic advised Acton to go to the hospital, but she refused. However, the police officer wrote that there was "no evidence of any physical violence" and it was a "verbal dispute only." There is nothing in the report stating that Acton was intoxicated at the time of the police visit.
"It's problematic for a campaign to have something like this come out," Republican strategist Bob Clegg said.
Acton is running for governor against likely Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, whom her team blamed for this report coming to light.
Acton declined an interview, but her running mate, David Pepper, said Acton only had one glass of wine and wasn't drunk. Their campaign said the prescription was a migraine medication.
"This is sort of a desperate attempt to try and tear Amy Acton down," Pepper said in an interview on Monday. "What do you do when you're a desperate billionaire and underwater? You use your money and your resources to try and smear the other person."
This was just a simple argument between husband and wife, he added.
"How did the police get called during a minor argument?" I asked him.
"I think someone called because they believed that Dr. Acton was under threat," Pepper responded, but didn't have more details. "The police came, they saw that that wasn't the case, and that was sort of the beginning and the end of it."
It is unclear who called 911, and the Bexley Police Department no longer has the dispatch call due to the incident being seven years ago.
Clegg warned that this incident raises concerns about whether Acton could handle running the state.
"Is this an ongoing problem or is this an isolated incident that occurred?" he asked.
Other Republicans, including Donald Trump Jr., have jumped online to give their criticism, arguing that Acton should be "seeking help" and not running for governor. Ramaswamy's X account reposted this.
During the time of the argument, Acton was part of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's administration. DeWine hadn't known about it.
"Do you think that this police report shows that she's not fit to run Ohio?" I asked DeWine on Monday.
"Well, first of all, I don't know what happened. I was not there. The only thing that I have said is that I wish she had reported that to us, just the police coming to a house, whatever the facts are," he responded. "I have no idea what the facts are."
Pepper said that there was no reason for Acton to tell DeWine about the police visit.
"I think most people, when they have a private personal argument with their spouse, aren't necessarily telling their boss about that," Pepper said.
Nothing came of it, he added.
DeWine, who wasn't thrilled by the choice of Ramaswamy and didn't endorse him until about a year after the majority of his GOP colleagues, defended Acton.
WATCH:
RELATED: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine not ready to endorse Vivek Ramaswamy
"Would you have kept her as the health director if you had known about the police incident from 2019?" I asked DeWine.
"Well, I’ll say what I have always said in that Amy Acton—I thought did a good job as director," the governor responded. "I'm the one who appointed her."
For months, DeWine has stood up for Acton during attacks against her for "shutting down" Ohio during the pandemic.
"The fact is, though, she worked for me, as all the members of the cabinet do, and decisions that were made were made by the governor," he said. "If there is a member of the cabinet who issues an order, that was at my direction."
Ramaswamy's team declined to comment.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
