The Kentucky Supreme Court has removed a local official accused of yelling at employees, calling a female staffer a derogatory term and spreading sexual rumors about a political opponent.
The high court issued an order Thursday removing Dwight Hopkins, the circuit court clerk in Lincoln County.
The court said there was clear evidence that Hopkins had created a hostile environment in the office and failed to treat employees with respect, as required by a code of conduct for clerks.
Hopkins’ actions interfered with the proper functioning of the office, the court said.
One female employee suffered stress-induced panic attacks and another began taking medication and cried extensively because of what she called the “terrible” office environment, according to the court order.
Hopkins was elected circuit clerk in November 2022 to fill the unexpired term of a longtime clerk who retired, Teresa Reed.
Circuit clerks in Kentucky manage court records, schedule juries and collect fines and fees for the court system.
The Supreme Court order said in its order that the first few months of Hopkins’ tenure were normal.
That changed “dramatically” beginning on Feb. 24, 2023, when Hopkins learned several employees were planning to go to a movie with Angelia Doolin.
Doolin ran unsuccessfully against Hopkins in the November 2022 special election.
Hopkins got upset about the movie outing and told Norma Atwood, the chief deputy clerk, that he considered Doolin his “arch enemy,” according to the court order.
Over the next few weeks, Hopkins said he would fire two staffers if they went to the movie with Doolin and made a number of statements that were sexist and derogatory toward female employees, the Supreme Court concluded.
Those included saying “women couldn’t be trusted,” “women cannot tell the truth,” “women have to respect men, but men have to respect God,” and telling one female employee she was a “good looking woman for her age,” according to the order.
Hopkins called one female employee a “smart aleck” and another derogatory term; used obscene language in referring to Doolin and repeated rumors of a sexual nature about her; denigrated his wife over her weight gain; and yelled and slammed his fists on the desk in one meeting, according to the Supreme Court order.
He also told one employee the sight of her made him sick, then “proceeded to stick his finger in his mouth and make gagging noises,” the court said.
“His actions had no legitimate work purpose and served only to intimidate, humiliate, and demean his employees, and those employees reasonably perceived his actions as being based on sex or political affiliation,” the high court said of Hopkins.
The court order said Hopkins admitted yelling, cursing, making demeaning comments about women and did not deny spreading baseless sexual rumors about his opponent, according to the court order.
Hopkins said he regretted many of the things he said, but contended he acted in good faith and accused others “of lying to further a conspiracy he believes was occurring,” the Supreme Court said.
But the high court called Hopkins’ belief in a conspiracy unsubstantiated and said his behavior “fell far below the elevated standards of integrity required of elected officials.”
Doolin defeated Hopkins in the primary election in May.
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