Out of order

MILFORD

Police responded to a selectmen’s meeting at Town Hall last week after a group of about 60 residents jeered and yelled at a town official.

The residents, mostly Portuguese-speaking landlords, had filled the selectmen’s meeting room to protest Milford’s new $50-per-unit inspection fee for owners of rental property. The crowd booed and yelled at Health Director Paul Mazzuchelli, drowning him out as he tried to defend the fee. Mazzuchelli and an audience member could then be seen shouting at each other as the crowd continued to make noise.

Two officers and Police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin appeared on the scene moments later and helped to clear the room. No one was arrested during the incident.

Selectman Brian Murray called the response from the crowd “absolutely disgraceful,” but Maria Valenca, a Milford landlord who helped organize the protest, argued that the Portuguese-speaking landlords are the ones who have been mistreated. Selectmen agreed to schedule a separate meeting on Thursday at Town Hall to hear from the residents.

-— Kyle Alspach