PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- A former Portsmouth police officer was found guilty of assault Tuesday in what authorities call a case of cell phone rage. Karen Johnson was charged with assaulting a man in a restaurant in November 2004.

"I wanted to apologize for acting like an idiot in the restaurant," Johnson said, offering a tearful apology on the witness stand.

---

Discussion: Talk About Rude Cell Phone Users
Video: Woman Tearfully Apologizes

---

Johnson acknowledged that she overreacted when she confronted Christopher Connolly at a Portsmouth restaurant. Connolly said he was having breakfast at Colby's when he answered his phone. The restaurant has a policy against cell phones, and Johnson -- who was sitting at the next table -- became angry when Connolly continued to talk on the phone.

"I was talking on the phone," Connolly said. "The next thing I know, she was kind of on top of me, holding my arms down. The phone was on the ground. She was this close to me, telling me to get off the phone."

"I did a really dumb thing," Johnson said. "I wanted him to turn off the phone, so I reached for the phone. I never touched him, never touched his phone."

Judge Sharon Devries acknowledged that cell phones can be annoying, but she said there is no excuse for vigilante justice. Johnson admitted that she was under stress at the time and wished she could take back that day.

"I feel terrible about the whole thing," she said.

Johnson was ordered to reimburse Connolly for a new cell phone and a tooth he reportedly chipped when she grabbed him, but Connolly offered to forget the whole thing. Johnson was also told to undergo counseling.

Johnson gained local notoriety when she was fired from the Portsmouth Police Department five years ago and then joined a highly publicized lawsuit charging the department with sexual discrimination.