$15K Awarded To Man Kicked Out Of NJ Council Meeting: See Why

LINDENWOLD, NJ — A Lindenwold resident will receive $15,000 as part of a settlement to cover legal fees after he sued the borough for not letting him film public council meetings.

A former Democratic primary candidate, Alfonso Penna, 24, was escorted out of a meeting on June 10 after he used his phone to record another resident at the podium who was talking about neglected properties.

Lindenwold's mayor, Richard E. Roach Jr., spoke over the resident and told Penna to stop recording due to a borough rule that allows only one source to film meetings.

Footage captured by Penna shows him referencing the Open Public Meetings Act in his verbal response to the mayor before Roach eventually concludes by saying, "the people of Lindenwold have spoken."

On Facebook, Penna called back "in reference to the election " regarding his loss just a week earlier for a council seat in the primary to two allies of Roach.

Penna called his order to stop recording and for a police officer to escort him out as "clearly a retaliatory act."

According to court filings, multiple people had recorded new police officers being sworn in earlier that evening without conflict.

Officer James Wells, according to Penna, was the one who escorted him out of the building and denied knowing of this rule.

The complaint addresses Wells' remarks as they left the room as confirming that the mayor's order was "the sole basis" behind the act.

The protocol to limit recording to one source was adopted in January.

Under the policy, the first party to apply would be granted access as long as the "governing body" gave their approval.

The recording party must also alert the council ahead of time by at least 30 minutes, hand over the original unedited version to the borough within 48 hours, and add a disclaimer outlining that the file was not an official record.

This availability has been routinely secured over multiple years by a local organization called "Love Lindenwold" that would then share the videos to YouTube.

Penna returned to the July 8 meeting, only to be met by more resistance.

This time, Police Chief Michael McCarthy Jr. was in attendance, along with three other officers.

Roach held the council back from conducting any business to wait for Penna to stop recording, and nobody else would be able to address the room until that happened.

After he continued, council representatives chose to leave the dais and leave residents to argue with each other at the podium.

The meeting then resumed while he kept recording nearly 10 minutes later.

A legal complaint was then filed on July 24 against the borough, Roach, McCarthy, and Wells.

The lawsuit lists violations of the Open Public Meetings Act, the right to record public meetings, and the New Jersey Constitution as being compromised.

Penna planned to record the next meeting on August 12 and applied for emergency restraints.

This proved not necessary as the borough revoked the recording policy later than night.

A settlement in the amount of $15,000 was reached on September 9 to cover Penna's legal fees.

According to the settlement, the payment did not equal an admission of liability for the borough.

A change in policy making also was brought to light as a result of the settlement.

The previous policy was enacted after one event, a council vote that bundled dozens of other resolutions into one motion.

Future guidelines for filming must be approved through an ordinance, be covered under constitutional limits, and only take effect after the public had an opportunity to voice their concerns.

As of Wednesday night, Lindenwold has no standing recording policy. There have also not been any new proposals brought forth as candidates for approval.

MORE FROM PATCH: NJ Slaps $1M Fine On Massive South Jersey Data Center

HAVE A STORY IDEA OR NEWS TO SHARE? Contact Editor Eddie Callahan at edward.callahan@patch.com to connect with Patch in your area.