Former EG school committee member assaults homeless woman

By News Staff

news@abc6.com

A former East Greenwich School Committee member was arrested Saturday after driving under the influence and assaulting a homeless woman.

The woman, who lives in her van at the Park & Ride near Frenchtown Road, told police that a man, later identified as Jack Sommers, pulled up and smashed the windows of her vehicle with a hammer. She says he also yelled at her to "get a job" along with other disparaging comments.

Sommers drove away from the scene and was soon stopped by police near Post Road, where he gave officers a difficult time before they took him into custody.

Sommers is charged with DUI and disorderly conduct.

The Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, Jim Ryczek, released a statement Wednesday, saying in part, "On behalf of the Coalition, our member agencies and the constituents we serve, we are appalled and deeply saddened at the story coming out of East Greenwich of Jack Sommer, a former East Greenwich School Committee member, attacking a woman experiencing homelessness. We know his actions do not reflect the thinking of the vast majority of Rhode Islanders, who we believe find this incident as horrendous as we do."

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