People v. Foster
| Decision Date | 17 May 2022 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. CR-5571-21 |
| Citation | 75 Misc.3d 815,171 N.Y.S.3d 326 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York, v. Mikayla FOSTER, Defendant. The People of the State of New York, v. Shaqueena Charles, Defendant. |
| Court | New York City Court |
Robert M. Carney, District Attorney, Schenectady (Michael DeMatteo of counsel), for plaintiff.
Adriel Colon-Casiano, Albany, for defendants.
Carl G. Falotico, J. Defendants are charged with disorderly conduct in violation of Penal Law§ 240.20(3).
The credible testimony and evidence set forth the following facts:
On August 26, 2021, an event was held in the rear parking lot of Trustco Bank, located at 1048 State Street in Schenectady. The purpose of the event was to engage with the community by providing fingerprinting and photographing services to children1 , giving out bike helmets to children, and providing other goods such as hand sanitizer and ice cream gift cards. The event had several participating organizations with representatives stationed at tables and under tents, including Trustco Bank, MVP Health Care, the Schenectady Police Department and the Schenectady Fire Department. The parking lot the event took place in is approximately 150 feet long by 60 feet wide.
Sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., the defendants, who use the pronouns they and them, were seen in a vehicle driving in the vicinity of the event. They were with a group of approximately two other people, and as the vehicle passed by the occupants shouted at the Police Chief and displayed their middle fingers towards the event. The vehicle then parked nearby and approximately four individuals, including the defendants, walked to the parking lot the event was taking place in. At the time, there were approximately twenty to thirty community members there, many of which were young children, (not counting representatives from the attending organizations). Also present were three candidates running for City Council, a candidate running for the local congressional district, the Mayor, and the Police Chief.
As they approached, defendant Mikayla Foster began to broadcast a 26-minute continuous livestream video from their cellphone to their Facebook page, which was downloaded by the Schenectady Police and a copy of which was admitted into evidence. As they entered the parking lot, the defendants and individuals with them started shouting and swearing, which prompted Patrolman Liggett to turn on his body-worn camera. That camera recorded for approximately 24-minutes and a copy of that video was also admitted into evidence. Almost all the actions of each defendant during the remainder of their time at the event were either audio or video recorded by either the body-worn camera or defendant Foster's cellphone. These recordings provide all the necessary evidence to determine the outcome of the trial.
Defendant Foster begins their recording by referencing their recent arrest for writing on the Schenectady Police Department with chalk, and a 2017 incident where Andrew Kearse passed away while in police custody, which led to an investigation by the New York State Attorney General. They walked past the Police Chief and greeted him, then ended greeting by saying "fuck you," and after surveying the parking lot remarked "Aww, are we disrupting your happy event where you hand out free shit to black kids like you actually give a fuck?"
Shortly thereafter, the Defendant explained why they were at the event:
For the first 13 minutes of their recording, defendant Foster used over a dozen profanities while traversing the parking lot. The defendant chastised elected officials for not going to a different youth event earlier in the day, tried to get complaint forms from police officers, stated their intention to file numerous complaints against the Schenectady Police Department, and referenced a "community task force review" and their displeasure with the results that came from it. They also designated the Mayor and Police Chief as "Bozo number one and Bozo number two" before they reprimanded the Mayor for a number of different reasons. That reprimand is concluded by saying "I hope you have the day you deserve; I hope it's a shitty one."
Shortly thereafter the defendant's demeanor began to change. They saw someone wearing a hat they didn't like, and shouted that the person was a The person wearing the hat, who actually was Elizabeth Joy, a candidate running for the local congressional district, was standing next to a young child at the time.
About a minute later, defendant Foster's attention turned towards a cameraperson for a local news company. They shouted to the person:
When defendant Foster's tirade against the cameraperson ended, an unidentified person said that people had started to complain about the defendants’ swearing, given the amount of children present. Even with that request, defendant Foster's shouted, extremely loudly,
The defendant's commitment to using appropriate language was short-lived, as a few minutes later they identified Elizabeth Joy for who she actually was, which prompted them to shout at her about her loss in the previous congressional election and about her clothes not being stylish. Defendant Foster ended this tirade by shouting "You literally lost, what a fucking loser."
Shortly after that, when defendant Foster started shouting at the news cameraperson again, he asked them to be quiet.
This led defendant Foster to loudly shout After the cameraperson continued to interview other police officers despite defendants’ shouting, defendant Foster started to loudly shout:
For the following two minutes until they left, the defendant again admonished a number of police officers, as well as the Mayor. As they began to walk toward the exit of the parking lot, defendant Foster loudly shouted
Shortly after their arrival, defendant Charles got into an argument with the Police Chief and other police officers about how much they were swearing. This argument prompted Officer Liggett to turn on his body-worn camera. The recording begins with defendant Charles loudly shouting After being told to stop swearing, defendant Charles shouted They ended this encounter by shouting
After that the defendant loudly shouted "black lives matter" a number of times, before pointing in the direction of some police officers and saying "I want this bitch right here." They then confronted the Mayor and Police Chief regarding a task force that defendant Foster was allegedly removed from. They also loudly shouted to all the attendees about issues such as police chokeholds and how the officers don't live in or know the community. They then loudly shouted
Defendant Charles then confronted the Mayor about a number of issues, including the gentrification of a certain neighborhood. After that they moved on to the person wearing the Liz Joy hat, who they did not...
To continue reading
Request your trial