Lawyer Accused of Assault on DHHS Worker

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By JULIE SHAW
Philadelphia Daily News

shawj@phillynews.com 215-854-2592

A lawyer was hauled out of a Family Court building in handcuffs earlier this week after a social worker accused him of elbowing her in the ribs after he sat down next to her.
Peter Quinn, 53, was charged with aggravated assault and related offenses in the incident, which occurred Tuesday while the two were waiting for a case to be heard in Courtroom K at 1801 Vine St.

After being led out of the building, he was held in a police holding cell for about 15 hours before being released, he said.

Department of Human Services social worker Tamika Cintron, 36, contended that Quinn elbowed her and called her offensive names, according to a police report and DHS Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose. Ambrose said that Cintron did not know why Quinn elbowed her.

Quinn, in a phone interview yesterday, denied the allegations.

Cintron did not return a phone call for comment.

On Tuesday morning, the two were in the waiting room on a dependency case in which Quinn was representing a parent. Cintron was there to testify in her role as DHS social worker. Cintron was sitting down.

According to a police report, Quinn sat down and threw Cintron's jacket to the side, then elbowed her in the left side of the ribs. Cintron then stood up and said to Quinn: "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Cintron said Quinn then got up and called her a "bitch." She then went to Courtroom K to get away from Quinn and Quinn tried to follow her into the room but was stopped at the door by court officers, according to the report.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20091204_Lawyer_accused_of_assault_on_DHS_worker.html
One observer who was in the court area said yesterday that he saw Cintron by the door yelling, "He hit me! He hit me!" referring to Quinn. The observer said Cintron was "visibly shaken and crying."

Ambrose yesterday called Cintron an "excellent social worker."

City records show that Cintron began working at DHS about two years ago. Ambrose said that Cintron characterized the incident as an "unprovoked attack."

Quinn said that during his approximately 18 years of handling dependency cases "nobody ever accused me of this stuff."

He said that when he went to sit down in the empty seat, he did not initially know Cintron was next to him. He said that the sleeve of her jacket was on his seat and that he moved it toward her seat.

That "pissed her off," he said, contending that she then said to him: "What the f--- are you doing?"

He contended that she elbowed him, then got up and started yelling in the hallway, which separates the waiting area from Courtroom K.

An aggravated-assault charge is routinely lodged when an alleged victim is a member of a protected class, including that of a social worker. Quinn was also charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment.

Sources who know Quinn professionally yesterday described him as argumentative.

One source who works in Family Court said that Quinn "has had difficulties in dealing with people on a daily basis." Another source called Quinn "crazy" and said that "lots of people" have had confrontations with him.

When asked about these comments, Quinn said: "I don't think that's true."

Ambrose said she was not aware of any other recent case of a social worker reportedly being attacked while in court. DHS records show there have been 17 reports of social workers' being injured while out in the field since social worker Danelle Cooper was beaten by Sharonda Sowell in North Philly in fall 2007.
(Maybe they should find a new line of work!)

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20091204_Lawyer_accused_of_assault_on_DHS_worker.html