Richard Brummel, of East Hills, was arrested Monday morning for allegedly assaulting a neighbor after a dispute, Nassau County police said.
Brummel, a self-described environmental activist, was charged with misdemeanor assault in the third degree, police said.
“He was kept in jail overnight,” East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz said.
Police did not identify the neighbor or give the location of the dispute.
Brummel was taking photographs of trees being cut down outside a neighbor’s home on Squirrel Hill Road before the incident, according to a statement he released on Tuesday.
Brummel said that Koblenz “improperly intervened in the arrest process and persuaded Third Precinct police to delay Brummel’s release to prevent him from attending an important Architectural Review Board that evening.”
Koblenz called the accusation “absolutely false.”
Brummel was arraigned on Tuesday, released on $500 bail and “slapped with” an order of protection, he said.
In 2014, Brummel was arrested in Roslyn Estates for pulling a fire extinguisher on a resident and her landscaper after he took photos of them cutting down trees, Brummel said.
The case was adjourned and then dismissed by arrangement with the district attorney, he said.
Brummel was to appear in court on Thursday, according to his statement.
