2 school board members charged with assault
Complainant says he still feels threatened
BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer

Two Brick Township Board of Education members have been charged with assault and harassment stemming from an argument that took place after last week’s board meeting.

Robert Lanzieri, a Brick resident and president of Parents of Autistic Children, filed the complaints against board members John Talty and Sharon Kight on Monday, township police Lt. Douglas Kinney said. Lanzieri also filed a harassment complaint against Sharon Kight’s son, Jared, who was present during the argument.

According to Kinney, Lanzieri said in his statement to police that Kight and Talty each put a hand on his chest or shoulder while they were speaking with him about statements made during the public comment portion of the meeting.

“I filed those charges because, I’ve got to be honest with you, I still feel threatened,” Lanzieri said Monday.

Although the incident took place on the evening of March 17, Lanzieri said he had to work all day Friday and, after thinking it over, decided to fill out the police reports on Saturday. The complaints could not be signed until Monday, he said.

Besides his belief that a board member should not reproach a member of the public for comments they make during a meeting, Lanzieri said he felt compelled to do something because other audience members told him they were afraid to speak at meetings for fear of being confronted.

“What struck me the most is when these other people said, ‘That’s why we don’t say anything,’ ” Lanzieri said.

Reached at Sharon Kight’s home Monday afternoon, Sharon Kight and Talty said they were upset with statements Lanzieri made during the meeting that they believe were direct attacks on Talty’s character.

“He wasn’t commenting on issues,” Sharon Kight said, referring to Lanzieri. “He was attacking Mr. Talty’s character. I believe that Mr. Woska [school board president Daniel Woska] did not have control over the meeting.”

“This is baloney,” Talty said. “I think it just shows that the president of the board, sometimes he lets it get out of hand.”

Woska did not return messages asking for comment for this story by press time on Tuesday.

“Even if I did question Mr. Talty’s character, a Board of Education member is not supposed to run into the audience and question a public comment,” Lanzieri said.

It was after the meeting that Sharon Kight approached Lanzieri. She said she told Lanzieri he should be ashamed of himself for attacking Talty. Her son was present, but Sharon Kight said he did not touch Lanzieri.

“I’m not going to lie; I was very upset at the time and I think if anyone heard someone talking to their mother the way Mr. Lanzieri was, they would be upset too,” Jared Kight, 21, said during a telephone interview Monday.

After Sharon Kight was led away from Lanzieri by her husband, Richard, Lanzieri said Talty also approached him.

Talty said he put his hand on Lanzieri’s shoulder and said, “Let’s calm down.” At that point, Lanzieri said, “Get your hands off me, John.”

“If he’s going to take it to court, I’d be happy to demonstrate exactly what I did,” Talty said. “I’m a 65-year-old guy; do you think I’m going to go after someone who’s 20-25 years younger?”

“I’ve never seen a board member get up from behind their desk and come running up and attack a member of the public,” Lanzieri said. “It’s more than just my word against their word, because there was people in the audience who were just as appalled as I was.”

Lanzieri said the court date has been set for some time in April.