ALAMO TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The crowd at Monday night’s Alamo Township board meeting got upset as township supervisor Lou Conti walked out.
A FOX 17 viewer e-mailed video of Conti leaving and the crowd jeering. Conti viewed the video for the first time.
“It’s an effort by the crowd to bully people, to try to get their way. They yell, say things, clap, do all that kind of stuff. That’s not something that you tolerate,” Conti said after watching the clip.
Citizens allege that Conti violated Michigan’s Open Meetings Act by leaving, but Conti said he adjourned the meeting properly.
“It was a motion made. It was seconded, and it was passed,” he explained.
Before the video started recording, Conti said the meeting had already spiraled out of control. He said a man who complimented the board during public comment got booed by the crowd.
The township supervisor walked out after another citizen brought up an accusation that Conti has been cleared of. Conti was accused of making an inappropriate gesture to a woman, following a meeting in September.
He said the citizen who brought up the allegation singled out another board member by asking her to comment on it. Conti said the full board should be addressed not one person.
“Well, it was about the allegation, but that’s already been cleared by the county. The county sheriff’s department came, took statements from everybody, analyzed everything and they found I didn’t do any wrongdoing. They’re just continuing to be a dead horse,” Conti explained.
Kalamazoo County undersheriff Paul Matyas said, “[Conti] denies such a gesture, and in the end, even he did make such a gesture there was no actual crime.”
Matyas added, “And we only investigate criminal activity.”
Conti said he is seeking legal advice on how to proceed.
The woman who made the accusation did not return FOX 17’s voice message.
