A Ball State University employee who filed a lawsuit against the university claiming she was harassed and racially discriminated against at work was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of threatening to shoot another employee, police said.
Maetta Vance, a University Banquet and Catering employee, was arrested on the charge of intimidation, a Class D felony, after Melissa Rubrecht, director of employee relations, told police that Vance made threatening comments about her, a Ball State Police report said.
Vance told Brian Scott, another Ball State employee, "I should get a .380 assault rifle and shoot her," referring to Rubrecht on Tuesday, the report said. Scott told Rubrecht about Vance's comment, and Rubrecht contacted Ball State Police later that day, the report said.
Two Ball State police officers went to Vance's home Wednesday morning, and then they brought her to the station for questioning, the report said. Police took her to an interview room where she was arrested.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president of marketing and communications, said police evaluated the situation and determined the reports of the threat were credible enough to warrant the arrest.
"University police took the appropriate precautions to ensure the employee's safety," Proudfoot said.
Vance said she did nothing wrong in a telephone interview Thursday.
She said the incident began when she went to talk to Rubrecht about unpaid hours she deserved to be paid for.
"She and I had been talking - not shouting, not fighting," Vance said. "... She kept on telling me I needed to be more specific [about the hours]. It was calm - no cussing, no nothing."
Vance said she thought Rubrecht's complaint to police was a set-up.
"I think they made that up because they're trying to fire me," she said.
In September, a U.S. District Court ruled in favor of Ball State after Vance filed a civil lawsuit against four of her co-workers, claiming that she was racially discriminated against while working. Vance's attorney filed an appeal in October.
"I think this is all over this lawsuit," Vance said. "This much I do know is wrong: I did not threaten to shoot someone. ... I can't even pay my rent, so how am I going to buy an assault rifle?"
After the arrest, Ball State banned Vance from coming onto university property.
Proudfoot said Ball State policy allows the university to ban anyone from the property if it perceives that person to be a threat to any students, faculty or staff.
According to the Ball State employee handbook, the university can fire an employee for "fighting, assaulting, threatening, or attempting bodily harm to anyone on University property."
Vance was released from Delaware County jail on $5,000 bail Wednesday, according to jail officials.
If she is convicted of her Class D felony charge, she faces an advisory sentence of six months in prison, according to the Indiana Code.
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