A township committee meeting in Cranford, New Jersey, ended with a man in handcuffs after a public session that officials say descended into disruption. What was meant to be a routine gathering of local government turned confrontational, culminating in an arrest and renewed concern about the tone of the town's meetings.
According to Cranford police, the man at the center of the arrest, William Thilly, refused to stop speaking and singing after his allotted time to address the committee had run out. When he was told his time was up, police say, he ignored orders to leave, setting the stage for the confrontation that followed.
As officers moved to escort Thilly out of the meeting, police say he deliberately dropped to the ground, and in doing so apparently injured an officer's knee. In an instant, what had been a disruption became, in the eyes of authorities, an assault on an officer trying to restore order.
Thilly is now facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer, according to police. The charges capped an episode that played out in front of the other residents who had come to take part in the evening's proceedings.
He was not the only person to disrupt the session. Before Thilly, officials said they had their hands full with another attendee, who launched into a singing routine before walking off, adding to the sense of disorder that had taken hold of the meeting.
Cranford Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty spoke out afterward about the direction the meetings have taken. She said she was concerned that the behavior of a few had escalated to the point where residents do not feel safe at meetings, and that their concerns and ideas were being drowned out by the antics of those causing the disruptions.