An Indiana Vectren Corp. meter reader had to be taken to the hospital after she was allegedly assaulted by a woman while doing her job, the Evansville Courier & Press reports.
WFIE reports that meter reader April Miller-Johnson, 54, was released from the hospital Thursday and was recovering at home after being found by local law enforcement the day before, lying facedown on the sidewalk, with blood on her head.
Johnson told Evansville, Ind., police that she was reading a meter when her alleged assailant, identified as 30-year-old Kim Jordan, and Jordan's fiance released their two dogs. The dogs reportedly rushed Miller-Johnson, so she used her company-issued pepper spray to get away from the dogs. According to the news station, Jordan's fiance later insisted to police that Johnson overreacted. Jordan and her fiance, according to police, then approached the meter reader, sprayed her with something, hit her in the eye and head with a can, and left her bleeding on the ground, the news station reports.
According to the Courier & Press, police reports indicated that Miller-Johnson's left eye was "completely swollen shut," and there was also a cut on the back of her head.
Vectren officials told WFIE that their employees' safety is of paramount concern, adding that the company would be working closely with police and the prosecutor's office until the issue is resolved.
At least one witness told WFIE that Miller-Johnson's actions in pepper-spraying the dogs were justified.
"I would have done the same thing, especially when it comes to protection for your well-being. I thought she had every right to do that," Brittney Ramsey, Jordan's neighbor, told the station.
Jordan has been charged with battery, but Miller-Johnson's sister called the attack attempted murder and is upset by the minor charge.
The station adds that Jordan's fiance said that they intend to sue Vectren for trespassing.
Read more at the Evansville Courier & Press and WFIE.