Lexington councilwoman arrested; lawyer alleges charges connected to her criticism of police
A Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman was arrested Sunday on criminal trespassing and other charges, according to Lexington Police Department.
Tayna Fogle, who is in her first term as a council member, was arrested Sunday after police responded to a disturbance shortly after 3 p.m. at the AT&T store on Richmond Road, according to a citation.
Fogle, who was first elected in 2022, represents the First Council District, which includes neighborhoods on the city’s east side.
Fogle was charged with criminal trespassing third degree, menacing and resisting arrest, which are misdemeanor charges. Fogle will be arraigned March 15.
Daniel Whitley, a lawyer who represents Fogle, said it was “disappointing that the incident could not have been handled without an arrest.”
Fogle has criticized some police disciplinary actions, sometimes questioning why police did not receive the same type of punishment as a member of the public, Whitley said.
Fogle has also supported more citizens on internal police disciplinary boards and has not been afraid to criticize or question the police or the Fraternal Order of Police, the police union, Whitley said.
Whitley also represented Sarah Williams, who was arrested in 2020 on charges connected to Black Lives Matter marches in downtown Lexington. Williams, a Black woman who also pushed for changes in police disciplinary actions, was eventually acquitted by a jury of all but one charge in 2022.
Whitley said police “were going to arrest first with (Fogle) and ask questions later,” he said.
According to an arrest citation, police were called to the store after Fogle was asked multiple times by store staff to leave. Lexington police also told Fogle to leave when they arrived, according to the citation. Fogle began to leave but continued to talk to the store manager as she was exiting the store, police said.
Police then put their hands on Fogle to escort her out of the store. “At this time she snatched her arms away from me in an aggressive manner and then stood facing me in a bladed manner. At this time, I felt Mrs. Fogle would strike me due to her aggressive behavior. I advised Mrs. Fogle that she was now under arrest in which she replied, ‘I am not under arrest.’” according to the arrest citation.
Fogle continued to resist the officer’s attempts to put her in handcuffs, police allege. A second officer had to help put Fogle into handcuffs, according to the citation.
According to a live video posted to Fogle’s Facebook page at 3:09 p.m. Sunday, Fogle was at an AT&T store because of problems with her account.
Fogle said the people in the store told her they could not help her because they only handled retail issues, not issues with accounts. In the video, Fogle asked the public for help in trying to sort out the problem with her account. It appears there was an issue with charges to the account that Fogle said was due to fraud.
Fogle appears calm in the video she posted to Facebook. Fogle was taken to the Fayette County Detention Center but later released on Sunday.
Fogle, who was first elected in 2022, represents the First Council District, which includes neighborhoods on the city’s east side.
