Iowa City man accused of assaulting two University of Iowa employees at Seamans Center

Douglas Johnson, 56, was charged with assault after police say he entered the Seamans Center and attacked two people.

File photo

The University of Iowa Department of Public Safety is housed in the Old Capitol Mall.

Meg Doster, News Reporter


An Iowa City man was arrested Monday for assaulting two University of Iowa staff members  inside the Dean’s Office of the UI’s Seamans Center.

Douglas Johnson, 56, of Iowa City, entered the Dean’s Office at 9:55 a.m. on Monday and assaulted the staff members, UI Public Safety spokesperson Hayley Bruce wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan. UI Police arrested the man at 9:58 after he left the building.

A criminal complaint said Johnson hit the victims “several times in the back of the head with no justification causing pain.”

Bruce wrote that the victims did not know Johnson before the attack nor is Johnson affiliated with the university.

Johnson was taken to the Johnson County Jail at 7:30 p.m. on Monday night.

At 2:34 a.m. Tuesday morning, Johnson was again stopped by Iowa City Police and cited for leaving a scene of property damage, driving without a license, and failure to provide liability insurance.

In the arrest report for the Monday assault, Johnson put down his address as the Shelter House.

The assault charges are a simple misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $850 and up to 30 days in jail.

In an email to College of Engineering staff, Director of Human Resources Cathy Koebrick described the incident and said there was no further threat to the community.

“We recognize that this event has been traumatic for those involved as well as unsettling and disturbing for our entire college community,” she wrote. “We are grateful that UI Public Safety was able to take this individual into custody.”