UPDATED A bathroom altercation following a political forum at the Beczak Center on Wednesday night brought police to the scene. Democratic county legislative candidate Kisha Skipper was placed in handcuffs and taken from the center in a police vehicle. A second person involved in the altercation, Donna Nolan, mother of incumbent county Legislator James Nolan, who represents District 15, “sustained an abrasion to her lip” and was treated and released at a local hospital, police said. Skipper was also transported to a hospital “for a complaint of pain sustained during the incident,” police said.
The incident began in the women’s bathroom at the center when Skipper was confronted by a woman who had also publicly confronted her during the forum, according to police and videos posted on social media. Other women entered the bathroom, including Donna Nolan. According to police, the incident “escalated into a physical confrontation, during which a third woman, the mother of a candidate attending the roundtable, reportedly attempted to intervene.”
Video posted on social media shows Skipper being escorted from the building and then sitting in a police vehicle for a few minutes before it leaves the scene. Skipper is president of the Yonkers chapter of the NAACP. Police said Skipper “was transported to the detective division for further investigation and was subsequently released without charges pending further investigation.”
Police said the incident remains “under active investigation,” with detectives “conducting extensive interviews, collecting evidence, and reviewing available video footage.”
The incident added a discordant note to what had been a spirited evening of political discussion. Almost every candidate in the upcoming election appeared. They included U.S. Rep. George Latimer, state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins and most candidates for the county legislature, including Democrats favored in most races and their underdog opponents.
