The New York Commission on Judicial Conduct ruled a judge should be removed after she was caught on camera arguing and hurling profanity at a group of Black teens at a high school graduation party in 2022.
According to a report the commission issued on Monday, state Supreme Court Justice Erin Gall, threatened to shoot Black teenagers and repeatedly invoked her authority as a judge in an attempt to have teens arrested.
The incident, which occurred on July 2, 2022, was caught on police body cameras.
The report states in a formal written complaint, Gall told police when referring to the Black teens, “…when they trespass you can shoot them on the property. I’ll shoot them on the property.”
Gall also told a police officer at the scene that she was “always on your side” when the officer told her his concern about a potential civil rights lawsuit in her court if the Black teenagers were arrested at the respondent’s urging.
“Her wide array of misconduct severely undermined public confidence in the judiciary and in her ability to serve as a fair and impartial judge,” the commission said in the report.
More on the commission’s report and the body camera video.
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