A Republican town supervisor in New York is calling accusations that he fractured a Democrat councilwoman’s wrist “baseless” following a police report seeming to vindicate the Republican.
Irondequoit Town Supervisor Rory Fitzpatrick was accused this week by Democrat Councilwoman Patrina Freeman of slamming a door on her hand and fracturing her wrist following a heated discussion at a town board meeting on September 20.
A police report investigating the matter found no evidence to substantiate Freeman’s claims and announced “no further action” would be taken over the matter.
“Supervisor Rory Fitzpatrick got aggressive and angrily pushed his chair back from the table and walked in the direction of the door,” Freeman claimed at a press conference Tuesday, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. “Once behind where I was sitting, he threatened me by saying ‘be careful.’”
“Supervisor Fitzpatrick stormed out of the conference room with me right behind him as I was sitting nearest to the door,” the board member continued. “The supervisor got to the door first, opened the door forcefully, walked through, and then slammed the door on me, effectively hitting my hand and fracturing my wrist.”
“What happened to me that evening and the behavior that led to it is categorically unacceptable, especially coming from an elected official,” Freeman said.
Freeman, who earlier this year sued the town for $1 million over alleged racial and gender discrimination, filed a report with the Irondequoit Police Department the day after the alleged incident.
Findings from the report were shared with the media on Tuesday. “[Fitzpatrick] said he did not believe anyone was behind him at the time he left,” an investigator wrote in the report, according to the Democrat & Chronicle. “He denied slamming the door and was never made aware of any injuries that Patrina had allegedly sustained.”
The investigator added that the door allegedly slammed on Freeman “has a self-closing door hinge making it difficult to slam shut.”
While no video cameras captured the door allegedly shutting on Freeman, footage from the board meeting following the incident showed no indication the Democrat was injured, the police report said.
No charges have been filed, the report said, adding, “no further action will be taken.”
In a statement sent to the media this week, Fitzpatrick, a former professional hockey player, touted the police report and told his constituents he regrets that the “baseless accusation is distracting from the important business of the Town.”
“The Supervisor categorically denies Councilwoman Freeman’s baseless accusation. Councilwoman Freeman filed a report with the Irondequoit Police Department, which conducted an investigation,” the statement said. “After interviewing witnesses and reviewing video recordings, the Police Department determined that there was no evidence to substantiate the claim.”
“The Supervisor regrets that this baseless accusation is distracting from the important business of the Town, which includes finalizing the 2023 budget, allocating more than $20,000,000 in ARPA funds for Town projects, and responding directly to residents’ concerns and inquiries,” the statement continued.
The Daily Wire reached out to both Freeman and Fitzpatrick for comment but did not immediately hear back.
