Constable won’t enforce PFAs
Candidate, who has history of domestic violence, calls orders unconstitutional
A candidate for constable in Northampton County with a history of domestic violence says he would not enforce protection from abuse orders if he is elected.
Matthew Flower is one of three people running as Republicans for the position in Moore Township serving warrants and other legal papers for the district courts.
Pennsylvania court records show that Flower pleaded guilty to harassment and disorderly conduct in 2014 after knocking his wife to the floor and choking her. He pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2019 after choking a tenant in his home until the man lost consciousness.
Flower, 39, is also the subject of a protection from abuse order that forbids contact with his ex-wife. Court records show Northampton County Judge Jennifer Sletvold issued the order in 2019 after a hearing where Flower’s
former wife testified that after a yearslong abusive relationship Flower sent her threatening text messages about her being raped and hiring someone to kill her. The woman also testified that Flower admitted abusing her so badly that she suffered a miscarriage.
Flower’s wife filed a criminal complaint last year alleging he had violated the order by possessing guns after Flower posted a picture on Facebook of himself carrying what appeared to be a gun at a protest in Harrisburg against the state’s pandemic emergency order closing businesses. Although a judge determined the object in the picture only appeared to be a gun, Flower was convicted of contempt for posting a comment on Facebook that referred to his ex-wife. That conviction was overturned on appeal earlier this year.
On his campaign’s Facebook page, Flower is depicted riding a horse on a gravel road and carrying a Revolutionary War flag. In posts, Flower writes that American principles of liberty and constitutional limits on the power of the government are under attack, as are businesses, free speech, autonomy and the right to dissent. Flower says he would support the preservation of constitutional law and individual liberty as constable.
In an interview, Flower said he believes protection from abuse orders are unconstitutional because they constitute punishment without due process and that he would not enforce them if elected.
“In this country, we do not punish citizens until they have been found guilty. They are innocent until that guilt has been determined, but the PFA process serves as a back door around those protections,” Flower said.
An advocate for victims of domestic abuse said the possibility that a person with Flower’s record could be elected constable is deeply troubling.
“It’s a grave concern, especially the message it sends to the people who have been victims of his crimes,” said Lori Sywensky, executive director of Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley.
When people who work in law enforcement are involved in domestic abuse, it can cause a victim to misperceive that the abuser is above the law and the victim cannot be protected, Sywensky said.
Constables are a holdover from Pennsylvania’s colonial system of government, itself an extension of English rule. Although the authority of constables has been reduced over the centuries, they are still law enforcement officers authorized to carry guns and make arrests. Also running for the Moore Township position are Ronald J. DelBacco and Jeffrey Kocher.
Unlike police, constables aren’t employed by municipalities but rather serve as independent contractors hired by district judges to serve warrants for traffic violations, criminal and misdemeanor offenses, eviction notices in landlord-tenant disputes and protection from abuse orders. They’re also authorized to serve as “peacekeepers” at polling sites, community events, schools, churches and businesses.
Like all elected offices in Pennsylvania, only a conviction for a felony or crime of dishonesty, such as fraud or perjury, can disqualify a person from being elected and serving as constable. Flower said there’s no legal reason he cannot hold the office in Moore Township.
Ian Castaneira, a York County constable and president of Fraternal Order of Constables, said although a record of misdemeanor convictions would not prevent a person from becoming a constable, they must still be trained, become certified and obtain insurance. A court order preventing a person from possessing firearms would be problematic for a constable, he added.
Like all law enforcement officers, constables should be held to a high standard of accountability, Castaneira said.
“We’re out here enforcing the law and we shouldn’t be breaking the law while enforcing it on others,” he said.
Court records show Flower pleaded guilty in November 2019 to misdemeanor charges of harassment and disorderly conduct and was sentenced to one year of probation after a man living in Flower’s home complained Flower had assaulted him. Flower was jailed for about 10 days in July for violating his probation.
Moore Township police said in an affidavit of probable cause that the man came to the police department to report that Flower had gotten into a verbal altercation with him. The man asked Flower to leave and as he walked Flower to the door, Flower put the man into a chokehold. The two men fell through the doorway and down a flight of steps where Flower tightened the chokehold until the man lost consciousness before the man’s wife intervened, the police affidavit says.
Flower also pleaded guilty to summary charges of harassment and disorderly conduct in May 2014 after his wife complained to police that Flower had assaulted her after she confronted him about being drunk.
Police said in an affidavit that Flower’s wife said she and Flower were in an argument about his drinking. Flower became enraged and tackled her to the floor where she struck the right side of her face. While she was on the floor, Flower laid on top of her and kept her from getting up, placed his arm around her neck and choked her. Flower’s wife told police that three days earlier, Flower struck her in the face, causing a small cut on her nose.
When questioned about his wife’s complaint, Flower told police that he did not remember anything about the night before and that if his wife reported that he had attacked her, it probably happened. Flower told police that he had been drinking and that when he drinks too much, he blacks out, according to the police affidavit.
Flower and his ex-wife were divorced in 2018, court records show. The wife is identified in court records, but The Morning
Call does not identify victims of abuse.
Court records show Flower has also been a plaintiff or defendant in nine protection from abuse cases. The protection from abuse order issued in 2019 remains in place for three years.
Flower’s wife filed a private criminal complaint in May 2020 accusing Flower of violating the PFA by possessing a gun after Flower posted a picture of himself carrying what appeared to be a rifle across his back at a March 2020 protest outside the Pennsylvania Capitol. He called the complaint “petty nonsense from a vindictive woman.”
The court found the object in the protest photo was not a gun but rather a wooden replica with a rifle scope attached and did not find Flower in contempt for possessing weapons. It did find him in contempt, however, for posting the reference to his ex-wife and sentenced him to six months of probation. The Superior Court overturned the conviction after finding that the lower court improperly found him in contempt based on a violation that was not specifically alleged in his ex-wife’s complaint.