Middletown Township police said Friday afternoon that no one will be charged in connection with an argument that happened following the Neshaminy School Board meeting Tuesday night.
Credit: Submitted
The incident involved Levittown resident Jim Jenca and school board member Stephen Pirritano of Lower Southampton. Both men engaged in a loud verbal argument in the parking lot of Maple Point Middle School following the end of Tuesday’s school board meeting. The meeting featured heated public comment from those opposed to the district’s proposed plan to consolidate and move fifth graders to middle school.
Advertisements
Two witnesses LevittownNow.com spoke with after the incident said Pirritano asked Jenca to step away from a group of residents so the two could talk. Shortly after, the two men stood face-to-face and began yelling at one another. The witnesses said they were not sure if Pirritano touched Jenca, as the Levittown man told police.
A LevittownNow.com reporter witnessed a portion of the incident. The two men stood in the parking lot and were yelling before a Neshaminy School District security officer stepped between the two.
A bystander held his cell phone up and it appeared that he was recording the incident, but no video has appeared. LevittownNow.com received a photograph of the incident anonymously via email on Wednesday.
Advertisements
Chief of Police Joseph Bartorilla said officers spoke with several witnesses before they ruled out charges in the incident.
“I have not been informed by police at this time that no charges are being filed, but that doesn’t mean the incident didn’t occur,” Jenca said when a reporter asked him about the news from the police chief.
Advertisements
“If Middletown Township police did not think there is enough to go on for charges, that is okay,” Jenca said. He added that he knew of seven statements from witnesses provided to police.
Jenca said he found it “disheartening that a board member would speak to a resident that way.” He also said it wasn’t the first time the public had been treated that way and pointed to an incident when board member Mark Shubin called a resident an “a–hole.” Shubin later apologized for that incident.
The incident, which LevittownNow.com first reported on Wednesday morning, spurred a lively conversation between Neshaminy residents on social media.
Advertisements
Pirritano said on Friday that he was not commenting pending feedback from a lawyer.
