ECORSE, Mich. (AP) - A city councilwoman has been charged with two misdemeanors for allegedly choking and hitting the mayor during a council meeting. Theresa Peguese was charged last week with assault and battery and obstruction of a government function during the July 18 council meeting.
Peguese's lawyer, Hugh Davis, said his client, who is black, was provoked when Mayor Larry Salisbury used racial slurs as they argued over a resident's request for relief from the city's zoning ordinance to build a modular home in Ecorse, a city of 11,000 about 10 miles southwest of Detroit.
Salisbury's lawyer, Bill Colovos, denied the racial slur claim and said the councilwoman was "out of control."
"This lady is in need of some serious anger management classes," said Colovos, who said he reviewed the tape of the council meeting and heard no racial slur.
Peguese could spend up to 93 days in jail if convicted.
"We admit that she had physical contact with him, but my client didn't choke him," Davis said
