A Sauk Village, Illinois employee speaks after an argument with the mayor during a village board meeting

SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. (CBS) – Earlier this week, a A chaotic confrontation ensued between the clerk and the mayor of south suburban Sauk Village.

On Thursday, one of the parties involved – Sauk Village Clerk Marva Campbell-Pruitt – gave her side of the story.

It was the first time she had spoken publicly since letting Mayor Derrick Burgess listen to her at a board of trustees meeting last Tuesday night.

During Tuesday night's meeting, the clerk grabbed the mayor's gavel after repeatedly asking the mayor to stop pointing it at her. Out of frustration, she tore it out of his hand and threats were made.

“I personally apologize because this is not typical of me,” Campbell-Pruitt said.

Campbell-Pruitt said she defended herself in the exchange. She admitted to physically touching Burgess and taking the hammer away from him.

“I definitely did,” Campbell-Pruitt said. “I'll tell you if you throw something in my face threateningly, and if I can, I'll take it away from you.”

A video shows Campbell-Pruitt telling the mayor: “I'll turn your head if you keep pointing!”

Campbell-Pruitt said what was not heard in the video during the meeting were the words the mayor's wife allegedly shouted at her while she was presenting her report.

“I was told to keep my mouth shut,” Campbell-Pruitt said. “I was called a bald B.”

She said that's why she turned to Burgess and demanded, “Get your wife!” Get your wife!” to which the mayor replied, “Shut up!”

“How can you do that to another person publicly, whether you like them or not?” Campbell-Pruitt sad. “Where is your humility, humanity? Where are your ethics?”

Mayor Burgess, who has not responded to CBS News Chicago's repeated requests for comment, and the clerk have had many disagreements in the village board meeting rooms. Pruitt said it has been running since 2017.

“During that time, I had to file a police report against him because he came into physical contact with me,” Campbell-Pruitt said.

She said this week her frustration reached a peak. Still, she insisted it doesn't fully reflect her.

“I am aggressive to a certain extent and confident to a large extent. But an angry black woman — that’s not me,” Campbell-Pruitt said. “I might have said, 'If I could, I would hit you in the head.'

The comment is documented on video of the village board meeting. But Campbell-Pruitt said that wasn't serious.

“I wouldn’t hit him,” she said. “I’m not a violent person.”

The employee claims she was unable to obtain records from the mayor, so village administrators asked the village inspector general's office to open an investigation.

Immediately before Tuesday's meeting, the mayor was served with an order to appear in court.

Campbell-Pruitt said Burgess apologized for his part in the dispute, but she has not yet accepted the apology.

“I want him to stop being punitive and harassing,” Campbell-Pruitt said. “If you say you respect me, respect me fully.”