A Republican lawmaker was arrested Friday for allegedly screaming and swearing at a snowplow truck operator who recorded the confrontation and later reported him to police.
Rep. Jeffrey Greeson, 51, of Wentworth was charged with disorderly conduct, criminal threatening and simple assault, according to police. He was released on personal recognizance and ordered back to Plymouth District Court on May 18.
Police said they made the arrest after receiving a report that a member of the Wentworth Highway Department had been obstructed in his efforts of snow removal by a citizen and had recorded part of the encounter on his cell phone.
Greeson didn't immediately respond to an email to his State House office seeking comment Friday.
Paul Manson, the road agent in Wentworth, said he had already been plowing for about six hours Saturday when he encountered Greeson standing in the middle of the road around 8 a.m.
“He just started giving me hell, and I didn’t know what was going on,” he said Thursday. “When I got out of the truck, he started screaming in my face. So I got back in the truck and got my phone.”
The video, which Manson posted to Facebook, shows Greeson clamoring over a pile of snow up to his knees along the road. The storm dropped nearly a foot of snow before winding down later in the day.
“Here’s where my driveway ends, right here. Push it out of the road!” shouted Greeson, who also used a rude hand gesture and expletives. “Your job is to clear the road. Clear the road! Now, get in your truck and do your job!”
Greeson is a retired Navy officer and pastor serving his second term in the House, where he sits on the Judiciary Committee.
“He was upset because I wasn’t pushing the snow off the road far enough, and I was putting it all in his driveway, which I’m going to be honest with you, that’s what I do,” Manson said. “My job is to get the snow off the road. And I feel bad most of the time because I do put snow back in people’s driveway, and I really can’t help it.”
Manson said he realizes it’s no fun to shovel out after a snowplow passes. But he said public servants don’t deserve to be attacked.
“I get to go home when I’m done with my 15-, 16-, 18-hour shifts and do the same thing,” Manson said.
