A charge of disorderly conduct against Bradford Township
Supervisor Tom Vickery was dismissed Monday afternoon following a
hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Chris Hauser.

Hauser ruled that Vickery lacked intent to cause public
inconvenience when an altercation took place in the Kennedy Street
Cafe on Nov. 22.

However, the magistrate did admonish Vickery for his behavior,
saying it was not an appropriate way for an elected official to
treat members of the public.

“As an elected official, you certainly speak with authority,”
Hauser said, referring to the fact the altercation began over an
argument about ambulance service in the area.

Adding that Vickery is a representative of the citizens, Hauser
said, “You should treat them with a certain respect.”

Vickery had argued with two members of the public about
differing opinions over which agency should provide ambulance
service to area municipalities and yelled at 74-year-old Robert
Pascarella to “Get a life, old man,” prior to leaving the cafe on
Nov. 22, according to testimony at the hearing.

Hauser said that during that discussion, neither Pascarella nor
Rose Vecellio, the other person with whom Vickery disagreed, made
negative comments to Vickery.

“They didn’t call you an idiot,” Hauser said. “You should
conduct yourself in a more professional manner.”

The hearing began with Lt. Carl Milks of the Bradford City
Police presenting three witnesses who described what took place
that morning in the cafe.

Pascarella, the first to testify, described that Vickery was
“talking fairly loud about ambulance service” in the cafe that
morning. Pascarella said he turned to Vickery and made a comment
about the relatively low cost of the service and that he could not
understand why people were arguing about it.

Soon, Vickery came over to a vacant stool between Pascarella and
Vecellio and began addressing Vecellio about service in Lewis Run,
where she lives.

And then, Pascarella testified, Vickery “bent down in my face
and verbally abused me. He said ‘Why don’t you get a life old man?’
I stood up and said ‘What did you say to me?'”

Vickery repeated himself, Pascarella said. “I said ‘I’ve got a
life’ and I put my finger on his shoulder,” Pascarella described.
“He took two steps towards me and I put my hands up in case I had
to defend myself.”

After that, Pascarella testified, Vickery left. Shortly
thereafter, police officers went to the cafe to talk to Pascarella
and he went to the station with them.

“I was walking to the police department with Lt. Milks and
Vickery came running out of the police station and yelled something
at me again. I didn’t hear what he said, but it wasn’t ‘have a nice
day,'” Pascarella testified.

Vecellio then took the stand, recounting the same events. In
response to questions from Greg Henry, Vickery’s attorney, Vecellio
said that people frequently have heated political discussions at
the cafe over breakfast. The only thing different about this day,
she said, was Vickery’s actions.

Vecellio referred to Vickery’s actions as “ungentlemanly,”
“childish,” “rude” and “ill-mannered,” according to testimony.

The final witness was Tom Dalton, who was having breakfast at
the cafe and was a bystander to the argument.

“Somebody raised a question about ambulance service. They each
had their point,” Dalton described. Gesturing towards Vickery, he
said, “This gentleman here kept making his point and his voice got
louder and louder.”

Dalton said Vickery was “badgering” the people at the counter,
and that he had left the restaurant and called the police regarding
the matter.

After the witnesses testified, Henry made a motion for a
directed verdict, saying that Milks failed to prove Vickery had
intentionally caused the inconvenience.

Henry argued that the exchange was a political debate, and that
was protected under the First Amendment.

Milks argued that Vickery’s manner was “tumultuous,” and was
“above and beyond what is considered normal. He intentionally tried
to get under people’s skin. He knowingly let it escalate.”

Hauser asked if Vickery’s status as an elected official meant he
should be held to a higher standard than others.

“It seems to me he is held to no higher standard at all …
because he is an elected official,” Henry replied.

Following the hearing, Vickery asked to make a comment. He said
that he and Henry were prepared to present a defense in the case,
which would have shown that not all of the allegations against him
were true.

“I clearly understand the circumstances of taking office,” he
said, adding he had spoken to his wife at length about the
pressures of being an elected official. “I attempted to do
something for the benefit of the public without weighing the risk
(to myself).”

He added that more elected officials should do the same.