LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington councilmember Tayna Fogle is speaking out for the first time since her arrest at an AT&T store.
The freshman councilmember has always been outspoken, often speaking on behalf of others and more often speaking louder than many are used to.
Fogle sat down with LEX 18 two days after news surfaced of her arrest outside of the Richmond Road AT&T store and the officer's claim that she resisted arrest to speak out for herself.
She says the police's claims are wrong and wants to tell her side.
"It's traumatizing," she said.
After leaving church Sunday morning at Shiloh Baptist, Fogle says she went to the AT&T store to try to fix a fraud issue with her account. She says she was hit with a massive bill for six unexplained iPhones after trying to get answers for two months.
Fogle tried to get the store to call the fraud department on her behalf. They refused, and she couldn't understand why.
"I know that the public can understand that and I just went on Facebook live to let them know what was happening to me," she said.
Seven minutes after that livestream ended, Lexington police showed up.
"That played out in the fact that I thought the officer was there for me to help me," said Fogle.
However, according to the police report, the officer was there because AT&T asked them to help get Fogle out of the store. The officer reported he asked Fogle to leave several times before putting his hand on her to escort her out.
The officer's report says Fogle snatched her arm away and then defensively faced him. He wrote he felt like she was going to hit him.
"Why would I, a government official with my background, turn to be aggressive to any police officer when I know he's got a taser, he has the right to shoot me, and I have two kids, eleven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren that I want to see grow up," said Fogle.
She says she walked slowly because of an ankle injury and is 64 years old.
"Never in a million years would I have thought I would be under arrest again," she said.
Fogle says after her arrest, the arresting officer, Sharp, brought up a previous encounter the two had.
"He said, 'You don't remember me, do you? ' I looked at him again and said, 'Yeah, I remember you, Broadway,' and he said, 'Yeah. We had an exchange then,' said Fogle.
Last summer, Fogle defended unhoused people who were facing arrest for loitering and disturbing the peace. She told them of their right to walk away if not under arrest in certain situations.
"I didn't know why he needed to call that to my attention," said Fogle. "That added to my trauma."
Fogle's 16-year-old grandson witnessed her arrest.
"I'm trying to look at my grandson's face, and I'm telling him it's gonna be alright," said Fogle tearfully.
Her attorney, Daniel Whitley, plans to fight the case, calling what happened an injustice, abuse of officer discretion, and waste of taxpayer dollars.
"She's asked to leave a store, and she's leaving, but she's still charged with criminal trespassing," said defensive attorney Daniel Whitley. "She shows a facial expression, and she's charged with menacing and all these other charges, so the question we have is, why are we allowing people to abuse their discretion by just throwing charges on people?"
Whitley also questions why hands were placed on Fogle before her arrest.
"The question becomes why do we have a hands-on approach on a situation that was just a bill dispute. In addition, if you yank off a person, a senior citizen, essentially 64, they're gonna show some kind of displeasure to that. But she's not being disrespectful. She's not cussing. She's not yelling at him. She turns around and has a facial expression," said Whitley.
Fogle's plea to her constituents is not to judge her until all the facts are out. Until then, Fogle says she'll be in the same seat in the chambers, relying on her faith in God.
"No matter what I have to go through, my mission in life is to speak up for the least of these," said Fogle. "Community, I'm still that person that you believed in. I'm still that person that will continue to fight for you—no matter what the injustice is."
LEX 18 contacted the police about Fogle's allegations about Officer Sharp. Below is their response:
Thank you for reaching out. We are unaware of any negative complaints or history regarding interactions between Councilmember Fogle and Officer Sharp. Regarding Councilmember Fogle's arrest inside the business, this is an ongoing investigation and open court matter. As such, we have no further comment about the incident.
Fogle is due in court on Friday.
