This confrontation quickly spiraled out of control.
A startling video shows a suburban New York highway superintendent being restrained while shouting at a town supervisor during a Thursday press conference — an outburst that prompted a police report and a workplace-violence investigation.
Clarkstown Highway Superintendent Bob Milone appears to lose his temper with Town Supervisor George Hoehmann during a public announcement about repairs to a trailway surrounding Congers Lake. The footage was recorded by the Rockland Daily.
“What you say to me, what you say to me? … Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, George? You could bully everybody else in this town,” Milone shouted at Hoehmann as another man held him back and prevented him from reaching the supervisor.
“You could bully everybody else in this town. Stop bullying people, George!” Milone continued before eventually leaving the area.
The town of Clarkstown, a suburban community in Rockland County, confirmed Friday that a police report had been filed and that a formal workplace investigation was underway following the “widely circulated” video of the confrontation.
It remains unclear who filed the police report. Hoehmann, however, alleged that Milone became “verbally aggressive and physically stalked” him after being told he could not stand at the podium during a press conference he had not been invited to attend.
“Mr. Milone arrived uninvited at a press conference, for which he had no role, and was politely asked to stand in the audience instead of at the podium,” Hoehmann said in a statement to The Post.
“This request enraged Mr. Milone and led him to attempt to start an altercation with me before being physically restrained by a town employee.”
SEE ALSO: One Dead, Three Hurt as NYC Mercedes Driver Hits Pedestrians
“Following the incident, a police report was filed, and the town’s Safety Compliance Officer was notified. A formal workplace violence investigation has been launched as a result of this video,” the town said in a statement.
“The Town of Clarkstown takes violations of workplace safety and threats or acts of violence seriously, and will thoroughly review the matter.”
The town also said it conducts workplace-violence safety training every year.
“We are committed to maintaining a safe and respectful work environment for every employee,” Clarkstown said, adding that it would not discuss “individual personnel matters.”
Hoehmann, a Republican who has led the town since 2016, said the incident marked the “fifth or sixth” time Milone had behaved in an “unhinged” manner at town events or on town property. He also alleged that Milone had to be restrained at a local America250 drone show this summer.
Milone, a Republican who has worked for the department for six years, is seeking reelection as a Democrat. He told The Post that he was simply standing up to a “bully.”
“How do you handle a bully? You stand up to them,” Milone wrote, adding that he plans to file complaints with the Rockland County district attorney and the state attorney general’s office.
“Our Town Supervisor has lost his way. He’s throwing his weight around, bullying town employees … and is weaponizing taxpayer resources against his perceived political opponents,” Milone alleged. “I guess I’m one of them in his eyes now that I’m running as a Democrat.
“I’m not a politician. I pave roads.”
The Thursday press conference focused on planned repairs to the Congers Lake Trailway, a scenic 2.5-mile path and boardwalk that runs around the lake along the Hudson River.
It has been closed since April after several support pilings separated from the boardwalk deck, and is slated to be repaired by mid-November — so visitors can once again make the full loop around Congers Lake, News12 reported.
