An elderly woman was arrested at her Alabama home and taken to the city jail a day after lashing out at the mayor of a small town and arguing with a city employee at a council meeting.
Novilee Williams, 79, was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment after a testy exchange during the public comment section of the Dec. 4 meeting, which was filmed and later posted on the city’s Facebook page.
“It’s a shame and a shame,” Tarrant Councilwoman Veronica Bandy Freeman, who, according to the outlet, broke down in tears upon learning of Williams’ arrest, told AL.com.
“And I feel so bad. She could be someone’s grandmother, great-grandmother.”
In the video, Williams can be seen in a nearly empty council chamber, sitting behind a woman identified as Shayla Myricks, an accountant in Tarrant, Alabama, a small city of about 6,000 residents outside Birmingham.
While Williams blasts Tarrant Mayor Wayman Newton, accusing him of engaging in corruption over the recent suspension and reinstatement of Tarrant Police Chief Wendell Major, Myricks repeatedly turns in his seat to challenge the septuagenarian’s claims.
“Turn around, baby,” Williams chides Myricks at one point in the video.
Seconds later, Myricks turns back to face Williams and makes a hand gesture, which Williams pushes away slightly as he repeats his demand that he turn around.
“Don’t put your hands on me, ma’am,” Myricks can be heard saying in the video.
According to AL.com, that physical contact led Myricks to file misdemeanor charges against Williams, alleging that she “engaged in fighting and threatening behavior in a public place.”
A confrontation between a resident and a city accountant led to a police report being filed when the 79-year-old woman pushed his hand away. city of tarrant
The police report obtained by the outlet says Williams “without legal authority, ordered Myricks to turn around” and “pushed Myricks, making physical contact, in an attempt to force her to do so.”
An email sent to Myricks by The Post seeking comment was not immediately returned Sunday night.
In the final parts of the video, Williams stood briefly with her hands on her hips as she looked at Myricks with a frown.
After the meeting is over, a uniformed police officer approaches Williams and she presents him with her identification, which she pulls out of a fanny pack around her waist.
The officer takes his ID and leaves the frame as the footage ends.
According to AL.com, Williams is a regular member of Tarrant council meetings and has frequently sparred with Mayor Newton, who was not in the room during the public comment period.
Novilee Williams, 79, was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment and taken to city jail after a testy exchange during the Tarrant, Alabama, City Council meeting on December 4. city of tarrant
Newton later told the outlet that, although he was not involved in Williams’ arrest, “you can’t put your hands on people.”
“I wasn’t there and they arrested her when she put her hands on the city counter. It was the city accountant who wanted to press charges against her. “I didn’t even know it had happened until people started calling me,” he said.
Newton could not immediately be reached by email.
Williams declined to talk about the incident with AL.com, but said he had hired an attorney.
“Everything is fine and I hold no ill will toward Wayman or that young woman,” Williams told AL.com after his arrest. “I pray for them.”
Speaking to the outlet, Councilwoman Freeman promised to “fight for” Williams.
“There are some rules for some and then there are rules for others,” he said.
“I can only be guided by my experience. When a certain person is attacked, it is a problem. “They went too far to do that to Mrs. Williams.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn