Linwood police arrested Northfield Mayor Erland Chau for a weapons offense outside of a local high school on Oct. 1, according to a release.
Police charged the 72-year-old mayor with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, disorderly conduct, and harassment, according to the Linwood Police Department. Law enforcement pressed charges after an investigation into “an incident that occurred” in the parking lot of Mainland Regional High School at about 4 p.m. on Oct. 1.
Atlantic County GOP Chair Don Purdy called on Chau to resign in a statement Friday evening. The release says Chau was involved in an altercation with a woman outside Mainland Regional High.
“This sort of behavior is completely unacceptable. Threats are never ok, let alone with a weapon. Erland Chau needs to resign as mayor immediately; he is unfit for public office,” Purdy said.
Chau, a conservative in a nonpartisan seat, was not immediately available for comment.
Chau has a history at that high school. He worked at Mainland Regional High as a science teacher for 45 years before retiring in 2020, according to a 2021 article in the Ocean City Sentinel. A Somers Point resident accused Chau of sexually harassing her son in 2016 — the school district said the incident violated its harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy, according to the Sentinel.
Rita Gisondi, the boy’s mother, said the then-science teacher repeatedly used sexual innuendoes with her son during class, and that a school district report backs up the claims.
At the time, Chau rejected calls for his resignation and said he was “fully vetted by local police and by the school administration.”
Annette Alegret, another former teacher at Mainland Regional High, wrote a letter last year to WPG Talk Radio accusing Chau of four incidents of harassment or inappropriate behavior. The mayor mostly denied those accusations as well.
The Northfield mayor was released on a summons, according to the press release.
Chau won reelection to the post last year. He served as a city councilman for 23 years before his mayorship.
This article was updated at 5:44 p.m. to include the statement from Atlantic County GOP Chair Don Purdy.