Smithtown Councilman Thomas Lohmann charged with assaulting fellow Councilman Tom McCarthy in executive session

A Smithtown councilman was arrested Wednesday and charged with an assault at town hall, police said, and another council member, the alleged victim, said he was attacked Tuesday while the two were in executive session. 

Smithtown Councilman and Deputy Supervisor Thomas J. McCarthy, 68, said Councilman Thomas Lohmann, 68, punched and struck him multiple times during a heated closed-door meeting in front of Smithtown Supervisor Edward Wehrheim, town attorney and other council members.

"He assaulted me in executive session and was issued an appearance ticket yesterday," McCarthy said Thursday. "For some particular reason, he came over four seats and assaulted me on the podium."

The two Republican council members were seen on a town broadcast in a heated verbal argument at the end of the meeting Tuesday afternoon, following the executive session.

The video shows McCarthy speaking to Lohmann as he left the dais and then pushed Lohman's chair as they appeared to be arguing face to face without any physical contact as other council members looked on.

 McCarthy said the vid eo was paused before executive session and resumed when the board voted to close the meeting for the day. He said he told Lohmann "never put his hands on me again" and demanded an apology, which he said Lohmann refused.

He said he told Lohmann through a third party that he had until noon Wednesday to apologize, before McCarthy called police.

McCarthy said he couldn’t disclose the nature of the discussion leading to the assault but said it involved a legal matter. He had offered to bring the legal issue to a public vote.

He said he was punched and struck multiple times in the jaw, neck and shoulder. He said he’s still in pain and required an MRI on four different parts of his body, for which he’s awaiting results.

Lohmann closed the door and didn't speak when approached at his home by Newsday reporters on Thursday.

Smithtown Councilwoman Lisa Inzerillo said she witnessed the altercation and said she would continue to support Lohmann as a "strong person of character.”

Police said the incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall. Lohmann was arrested at his home and charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He will be arraigned April 28, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. Police said the alleged victim's injuries were minor.

A criminal complaint said Lohmann struck McCarthy in the left shoulder with "an open right palm" and punched him on the left side of his jaw. The alleged assault caused "substantial pain and injury in his jaw." McCarthy told police he also had limited movement in his shoulder as a result of the confrontation.

A staff member at Smithtown Town Hall on Thursday said the supervisor’s office had no comment on the arrest. Two detectives were seen entering town hall Thursday afternoon.

McCarthy said he does not feel safe working with Lohmann and is seeking a restraining order.

"It was a passionate discussion, and for some reason it turned violent," McCarthy said. "It was a discussion with multiple people where we were going back and forth. The supervisor, town attorney and the whole town board were there. There were multiple witnesses to the event. Something happened and it’s an extremely unfortunate situation."

McCarthy defeated Lohmann in a 2017 Republican primary for town council. He was the deciding vote to appoint Lohmann to Wehrheim’s vacant town council seat after Wehrheim was elected supervisor.

Lohmann is a former NYPD homicide detective and worked as an assistant special investigator for the Suffolk County district attorney before taking office in 2018.

Newsday's Nicholas Spangler and Sandra Peddie contributed to this story.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.