West Tisbury Police say they will file a charge against a town employee after he allegedly shoved a man at the annual town meeting last month. 

West Tisbury building inspector Joseph Tierney is facing a charge of assault and battery on an elderly person after resident Leon Brathwaite told police that Mr. Tierney pushed him to the ground at the April 8 town meeting, according to a police report. 

Mr. Brathwaite was in the audience at the West Tisbury school and was chatting with a person next to him while another speaker was addressing the town meeting, witnesses told police. 

Mr. Brathwaite said that Mr. Tierney, who was also in the audience, tried to get him to stop talking while the other speaker was at the microphone. Mr. Brathwaite claimed that he leaned in to better hear Mr. Tierney, when Mr. Tierney pushed him, resulting in a pause in the town meeting while Mr. Brathwaite was treated by paramedics, according to the police report. 

Police obtained statements from multiple people after the incident. Two stated that they saw the pushing motion, one recalled seeing Mr. Brathwaite’s two feet solidly on the mat, indicating that he did not trip. One witness who did not see the entire incident told police that Mr. Brathwaite was “not acting like someone who was pushed, he was acting more embarrassed as if he fell,” according to the report. 

Mr. Tierney told police that he “used his arm in a backhanded motion which contacted Mr. Brathwaite pushing him away [and] causing him to fall,” according to the police report.

After the incident, police contacted Mr. Tierney and told him he would be charged and would receive mail from the Edgartown District Court. A search in the court’s records system revealed no notice that Mr. Tierney’s case had come up for an arraignment yet.

Mr. Brathwaite’s attorney sent a letter to the town on May 16 that stated Mr. Tierney was scheduled to have a clerk’s hearing on June 10. Clerk magistrate hearings are not on the public docket and are held behind closed doors to determine if a case should go to an arraignment.  

Mr. Brathwaite, a former Dukes County commissioner, had to be treated at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital following the alleged assault, and he is still taking medication to deal with his injuries, according to his lawyer. 

“Perhaps more concerning, Mr. Brathwaite lives in fear of encountering Mr. Tierney again — an employee who may still be representing the Town and enjoys public authority,” attorney Thomas Orr wrote in the letter. 

The incident was discussed by the select board in an executive session Wednesday. As of Wednesday, Mr. Tierney was still employed by the town, according to town administrator Jennifer Rand. 

Mr. Tierney did not respond to a Gazette phone call for comment. 

Select board chair Cynthia Mitchell did not return a request for comment Thursday, and Mr. Orr said his client did not wish to comment further on the incident. 

Mr. Tierney was appointed the building inspector in 2014.