Updated June 23
West Tisbury building inspector Joseph Tierney will be disciplined for allegedly shoving an elderly man at the annual town meeting in April. He is also scheduled to appear in Edgartown District Court on July 17 for the charge of assault and battery on an individual 60 and over or disabled.
On Wednesday, the West Tisbury select board voted 2 to 1 to sign a “last chance” disciplinary agreement with Tierney over the incident.
The town found that Tierney had violated its employees’ standards of conduct, and the agreement states that the building inspector was “aware of the seriousness of the situation, accepted responsibility for his actions, and is committed to not repeating similar conduct.”
In May, the town received a letter from Thomas Orr, an attorney representing West Tisbury resident and former Dukes County Commissioner Leon Brathwaite, accusing Tierney of shoving his client during the town meeting. Orr wrote the shove had caused Brathwaite to fall and suffer an injury. Orr had requested a meeting with the town, and asked whether any disciplinary action would be taken against Tierney.
West Tisbury officials had discussed the incident in closed-door sessions.
Under the agreement, Tierney needs to enroll in a conflict resolution course approved by the West Tisbury town administrator, and provide documentation of having completed the program. Failure to do so may lead to his termination.
The agreement also states Tierney will be terminated if he commits another offense “similar to any of those for which this discipline was imposed,” such as “physically assaulting a member of the public while acting in his capacity as building inspector.”
Tierney was not immediately available for comment.
Skipper Manter, the board member who cast the sole dissenting vote, disagreed with the agreement, which termed Tierney’s record “unblemished.” He highlighted that, while it was not physical, Tierney had been at the center of a previous verbal incident that resulted in an apology being issued by the town.
“I don’t call that an unblemished record,” he said.
West Tisbury Town Administrator Jennifer Rand told The Times that this was referring to a 2021 incident when Tierney had a “back-and-forth” conversation with an individual. The town later received a letter from this person saying he wasn’t treated well by Tierney, although the building inspector had already sent an apology by the time the incident reached the select board. Still, Rand was asked by the board at the time to reach out to the individual regarding the incident.
Board chair Jessica Miller said during the Wednesday meeting that while she agreed with Manter’s sentiments, she didn’t think it warranted sending the agreement back to the lawyers for review, since the disciplinary outcome was the same.
“The point of this is, if there is another issue, that’s the last chance,” Miller said. “It’s not a building of incidents.”
The criminal complaint against Tierney, alongside the summons for next month, was issued on June 11 in Edgartown District Court.
Orr, Brathwaite’s attorney, was not immediately available for comment.
Updated with Joseph Tierney’s court dates in Edgartown District Court.
I was not at the meeting nor have I had contact with any of the parties involved. However what I can speak on is my past relationship with Joseph Tierney. He trained me as a firefighter in Tisbury and he was my lieutenant on 623 The Legion Pumper out of Tisbury. I’ve spent many hours over the years with Joe in situations from calm to highly stressful and in all those times I never saw him be violently aggressive physically or verbally. Mr. Tierney has always been a consummate professional. A person with great character who has given many years of service to the people on this island. I wish more people gave of themselves as much as Mr. Tierney has.
I totally agree with your comment Christopher regarding Joe’s character
I totally agree with your comment Christopher regarding Joe’s good character
I wan’t there either but a more plausible explanation is the gentleman simply lost his balance as Mr Tierney motioned to him to quiet down so the speakers could be heard.
That is the most bizarre explanation I have ever seen, analogous to blaming a victim because of what they were wearing.
Maybe, just maybe, the victim here was shoved in anger by someone incapable of controlling their temper?
Chris, I’m glad you had and shared that experience with Joe. Given that you were probably younger than him and in mint physical shape at the time, I’m sure Mr. Tierney knew that he was to even attempt to physically attack you that you’d fight back and possibly whoop his you know what.
To everyone one else, I can only imagine the feeling that Joe has now that he knows that it’s only going to take one phone call of a disgruntled builder, architect or homeowner to end his career. Then again, I saw the video and this situation is of his own doing. Good luck Joe.
Joe Tierny has a long history of arrogance and rudeness. He also abuses his position of power by making members of the West Tisbury community be subject to harsh Inspector rulings and favoritism. He has received numerous complaints WT had a chance to end this nightmare but blew it.
Mark, you are correct.
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