FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Christen Johnson, a mother of three, is sharing her account of a July 2024 traffic stop that led to her arrest and subsequent lawsuit against the Kentucky State Police.
Johnson recalls putting her children to bed when a Kentucky State Police trooper pulled into her driveway, stopping her mother for what he believed were expired tags.
The body camera footage shows Johnson coming outside to see what’s happening, asking for clarification about the situation involving her mother.
“Hello, go back inside for me,” Trooper Myron Jackson tells her.
“This is my mother,” Johnson responds.
“I understand, but this is my traffic stop so go back inside,” he retorts.
“I walk outside and I'm just politely asking the trooper what's going on, I'm just here checking on my mother,” Johnson recalled on Tuesday.
Jackson instructed her to go back indoors, warning her that she was interfering with his traffic stop, as seen in the body camera footage.
“I took it upon myself to go back inside the house and grab my phone, and quietly come outside to record what was going on because something in my gut told me, 'This isn't right, why did he pull her over?' I just wanted to make sure my mother was okay,” said Johnson.
In the moment that followed, Jackson can be seen approaching Johnson, and the exchange escalates.
“Okay. I told you to go inside, you are interfering with my traffic stop. If you step back outside, you will be arrested. You will not interfere with my traffic stop. Go inside the house or I will take you from your kids and take you to jail,” he told her, before detaining her and putting her in his cruiser.
Johnson was charged with obstructing governmental operations and resisting arrest. Those charges were later dismissed due to a lack of probable cause.
As the arrest unfolded, Johnson’s children aged two, seven, and ten watched from the window, she said.
"I mean, that's a big thing. I don't want my children to ever experience that cops are bad because I am pro-cop, but what happened was unnecessary, and it should've been handled correctly and what he did is not okay," said Johnson.
During the arrest, Johnson pleaded with the trooper to let her return to her children, who were left unattended. A court order prevented her mother from being alone with the kids.
Booked at the Franklin County Jail overnight, a completely foreign experience for Johnson, she described it simply: “It was hell. I don't know what else to say. It was a nightmare.”
Johnson is now suing Trooper Jackson and his supervisor, Sgt. Jason Briscoe.
The lawsuit claims that Johnson’s mother called 911 during the incident and spoke with Sgt. Briscoe, who reviewed the body camera footage and informed Johnson’s mother he would not interfere with the arrest.
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages for violation of Johnson’s first and fourth amendment rights, battery, malicious prosecution, false arrest, and emotional distress.
KSP acknowledged they became aware of the incident in May and have launched an internal investigation. A KSP spokesperson told LEX 18 they are unable to comment further due to the ongoing legal matter.
