Judge Rules For Smithfield In Lawsuit Brought By Fired Cop

By Carolina Journal Staff

A federal judge has ruled in favor of Smithfield in a lawsuit brought by a fired police officer who was also a Johnston County school board member. Monday’s ruling ends the lawsuit Ronald Johnson filed in 2023 against more than 20 defendants.

The lawsuit had alleged a conspiracy designed to drive Johnson from elected office.

Johnson won re-election to a third school board term in 2024 after filing suit, but a Johnston County jury convicted him in January 2025 on charges of attempting to bribe a congressional candidate. He was sentenced to 6-17 months in prison, and a Superior Court judge had him removed from office. Johnson also was forced to surrender his law enforcement license.

He was released from prison in July 2025 and remained on parole until April.

US District Judge James Dever issued a March 2024 order that threw out much of Johnson’s federal suit. But Dever allowed Johnson to continue his case against Smithfield and against David Marshburn, a political foe accused of defaming Johnson.

Monday’s 37-page order granted summary judgment to both Smithfield and Marshburn, leaving Johnson with no further active claims.

Dever had allowed Johnson to challenge his firing as a Smithfield police detective in 2022 on multiple grounds. Johnson alleged retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“Smithfield asserts that it terminated Johnson’s employment on October 14, 2022, for several non-retaliatory reasons,” Dever wrote Monday. “First, Johnson’s conduct on the [school] Board negatively affected Johnson’s perceived integrity, neutrality, and reputation related to his performance as a police officer. Second, Johnson engaged in ‘detrimental personal conduct’ by sending sexual texts about a female employee.”

“Third, as a police officer, Johnson would have to testify in court, but the Town believed that Johnson lied to a magistrate” when requesting a protective order, Dever added. “Johnson’s misconduct gave the town manager ‘grave concerns regarding the public trust.’ Lastly, Smithfield did not think ‘it was appropriate to have an officer who had been publicly accused of inappropriate sexual conduct in charge of these types of sensitive [sex-abuse] cases.’”

Johnson had cited a July 2022 letter to town officials suggesting that an internal administrative investigation of his activities was based on his sex.

“Even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Johnson, no genuine issue of material fact exists about pretext,” Dever wrote. “No rational jury could find that Smithfield terminated Johnson’s employment on October 14, 2022, because of his July Letter, as opposed to the misconduct and other concerns reflected in Smithfield’s employment termination decision.”

Dever rejected Johnson’s ADA and FMLA claims on similar grounds.

Marshburn, a candidate for Johnston County sheriff in 2022, took part in nearly two dozen Facebook Live webcasts and public posts that included accusations “that Johnson misused Town equipment to have an extramarital affair and for his own political gain.”

“Johnson alleges that Marshburn falsely stated that Johnson used government property to record conversations for non-governmental purposes and for personal gain,” Dever wrote. “Johnson admitted, however, to making 76 secret recordings, some of which were on his government phone, for personal and not official police purposes.”

“Johnson admitted to recording individuals for personal purposes on law enforcement equipment,” Dever added. “Johnson then retained these recordings on a personal iCloud after Smithfield terminated his employment. Johnson also admitted to secretly recording a Board meeting and taking a phone from the Smithfield Police Department. Johnson’s conduct violated Board policy and had no official policy purpose.”

“The jury instructions in Johnson’s criminal case identified this conduct as violating his official duties,” Dever added. “The jury convicted Johnson for this violation of his official duties.”

“The ‘sting’ of Marshburn’s statements concern Johnson improperly using government property for personal gain,” Dever wrote. “The jury convicted Johnson of this misconduct. Thus, Marshburn’s statements that Johnson used government property to record conversations for non-governmental purposes and for personal gain are substantially true.”

The judge rejected Johnson’s other accusations of illegal defamation from Marshburn.

Johnson filed suit in June 2023, naming Smithfield, the school board, and 19 individual defendants. The case focused on Johnson’s claims of sex discrimination, defamation, and conspiracy to remove him from office. Johnson sought reinstatement to his Smithfield police job, along with back pay and compensatory and punitive damages.

He joined the Smithfield Police Department in 2005 and was promoted to detective in 2012. He worked for the department until October 2022, when town officials fired him for what was described as “detrimental personal conduct.”

Dever’s 2024 order threw out all claims of defamation and conspiracy that Johnson leveled against Smithfield’s town manager, human resources director, and police chief. The order also dismissed all complaints against Johnson’s county school board colleagues, a former school board attorney, the Johnston County district attorney, and two other county prosecutors.

Much of the judge’s 65-page order detailed controversy surrounding Johnson’s school board activity.

The Johnston board censured him twice in 2022. Colleagues cited his secret recordings of closed-door sessions, along with texts during board meetings commenting on the appearance of a female school employee. He also faced accusations of interfering with two special-education students because of a personal dispute with a parent.

Smithfield fired Johnson from his police detective’s job shortly after the second censure.

In April 2023, Johnson faced criminal indictments on charges of extortion, felony obstruction of justice, and willfully failing to discharge his duties. Those charges were related to accusations involving a congressional candidate, DeVan Barbour. Authorities say Johnson threatened to reveal a damaging recording of Barbour in 2022 unless Barbour pressured a woman to back off statements about having an affair with Johnson.

The woman, Angie McLeod, was listed among the original defendants in Johnson’s lawsuit. Johnson accused McLeod of sexually assaulting him and pressuring him into a sexual relationship. His sex discrimination claims stemmed from accusations that Smithfield authorities wouldn’t believe his story because he is a man.