Residents React To Hatboro Councilwoman's Bar 'Disturbance'

HATBORO, PA — Residents are reacting to the "disturbance" caused at a borough bar that involved Hatboro Councilwoman Nicole M. Shay.

Shay was accused in a "disturbance" reported at 12:57 a.m. on Oct. 26 at Crooked Eye Brewery, a police report states.

The incident was never revealed publicly by Shay or borough officials nor were any statements made to the public by borough leaders about the conduct of an elected official.

The story has caused much debate on social media, with over 100 people offering comments about the situation on the Hatboro-Horsham Patch Facebook page.

"A lot of people now know what happened, and it was right before a town election," one person posted. (Shay was not running for re-election in the November general election.)

Shay's report detailing the incident was also "redacted" by Police Chief Mark Ruegg.

"The council, however, are people we’ve elected to represent borough residents. I, for one, appreciate the information being made public," one person posted in the comments section under the Patch story. "However, if we have a Borough Council to hold our feet to the fire for not abiding by policy or ordinances or whatever, it’s not unreasonable to expect the council to set the bar a little higher for themselves."

Shay — a Democrat who was appointed to fill a vacant council seat in January 2023 — serves as a member of the borough's public safety committee, which is involved with the police chief and the Hatboro Borough Police Department.

As per Pennsylvania Borough Code, the mayor — in this case, Mayor Tim Schultz — oversees the police department.

"Everyone can be pushed to limits and snap verbally," said one person who defended Shay's actions. "That doesn't have to mean they are Democrat or Republican. It means they are human."

Information is rarely "redacted" from a police report, law enforcement members told Patch.

One reason for a "redaction," though, is because of someone listed in a police report as being underaged.

Yet, Shay's police report listed someone who was underaged and that information was not blacked out in the report signed off by Ruegg.

"She requested it be closed," one Facebook commenter said, adding that no details about the incident were provided in the police report other than it stating that there was a "disturbance" at the Crooked Eye Brewery. "There’s reasons for that."

Shay did not respond to an email from Patch seeking comment about the police report or the bar "disturbance."

"The former mayor would never have done this. Nor anyone on the police force," one Facebook commenter stated. "Hatboro used to be a clean town with no scandal. Those days are long gone."