NJ mayor faces weapons charge after school incident, cops say

🔴 Mayor charged with weapons offense, harassment

🔴 Happened in the parking lot of school

🔴 He was wearing a referee jacket at the time, report says

LINWOOD — A woman at an Atlantic County school called the cops on the mayor of Northfield earlier this month, according to police.

Erland Chau, 72, was booked on Friday for the incident at Mainland Regional High School, Linwood police said. He was released until a future court date.

The Republican mayor is charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, disorderly conduct, and harassment in connection with the incident on Oct. 1, police said.

Chau has been mayor of Northfield for ten years. He most recently won re-election in 2023.

Chau is accused of pulling a starter pistol on a woman during an argument in the school parking lot, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Press of Atlantic City.

Court documents said Chau was backing out of a parking space at Mainland Regional when a woman blocked him in, according to the report.

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Chau, a cross country official, got out of the vehicle and brandished a starter pistol, the report said. He was reportedly wearing his referee uniform at the time of the incident.

The woman believed the starter pistol was a real gun and the police were called.

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