Rochester mayor charged with assault after 'physical altercation' at council meeting

ROCHESTER — Borough Mayor Keith Jackson is facing assault charges after an altercation at a council meeting allegedly turned physical.

Jackson was charged by mail Friday with two counts each of simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment with physical contact after Beaver County detectives said he physically threatened and "bumped his chest" against Rochester Manager John Barrett during a heated argument.

Rochester Council members said Jackson was arrested during an executive session held at the board's regular Sept. 19 meeting at the municipal building. Council President Ben Rader said council members, alongside Barrett and Jackson, were debating the role of retired police chief Frank Mercier, who plans to remain on staff as a borough code enforcement officer.

Jackson and another council member began to question the appointment of Mercier to this position, Rader said, when an argument between Jackson and Barrett started to escalate. Some council members left the room at this point, said Rader, who added that he attempted to mediate the situation inside the chambers.

"They were arguing and yelling, I was trying to calm (Jackson) down," he said. "I was talking to my solicitor and, next thing I knew, Mr. Jackson just jumped right up and came after Mr. Barrett, who was like four seats away. I hate to say it, but (Jackson) was just completely out of control. I tried to stop him and he just bowled right over me.

"That was just craziness over something really small," Rader added.

In an affidavit submitted by the Beaver County Detective Bureau, Jackson is accused of walking toward Barrett and "bumped his chest" against the borough manager. During this interaction, detectives said Jackson's hands were clenched and he shouted for Barrett to hit him. Rochester police officers soon entered the room to separate the two.

Rader said Jackson was then escorted out of the room in handcuffs by officers and taken to a holding cell within the building. The Times has been unable to independently verify that claim.

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Jackson shared his conflicts with Mercier with the Times earlier this year, which included concerns about the disclosure of information in the department. Members of the Rochester Borough government had floated the possibility of pursuing legal action against Jackson for his conduct with Mercier, at times accusing the mayor of criminal harassment.

Tensions remained high between Jackson and Barrett throughout the mayor's time in office, too, due in part to the council's adoption of Resolution 2021-04. The guidelines, adopted after multiple reported conflicts between the two men, ask that the mayor have a third party present when talking to Barrett for anything related to borough business.

As of Friday morning, the Times had not received a copy of the police report filed after the incident from the Rochester Police Department. When arriving at the municipal building on Thursday afternoon, no staff members were present at the department to assist in accessing the records. Employees were present in the municipal building to receive a Right-to-Know law request, but they were unable to identify the location of the Open Records Office listed on the website.

When asked Thursday what caused the argument to turn physical, Jackson did not comment on the specifics of the situation.

"I did nothing wrong," he said. "I have nothing to hide. But I'm pretty sure when this investigation is over with, they're gonna see a different picture."