FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 09/21/2020 05:12 PM INDEX NO.

155646/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/21/2020

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF NEW YORK
------------------------------------------ ---X
In the Matter of,

AUSTIN TONG, Index No. 155646/2020

Petitioner, AFFIDAVIT

-against-

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, JOSEPH M. MCSHANE,

in his capacity as President of FORDHAM UNIVERSITY,
and KEITH ELDREDGE, in his capacity as Assistant Vice
President and Dean of Students of FORDHAM UNIVERSITY,

Respondent,

For a Judgment Pursuant to Article 78 and Section 3001

of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

--- X

STATE OF NEW YORK )

) ss.:
COUNTY OF NEW YORK )

John Vasek, being duly sworn, states:

1. I am a former Deputy Inspector for the New York Police Department and am

currently a Duty Supervisor in the Public Safety Department at Fordham University (the

"University"
or "Fordham"), respondent in this Article 78 proceeding.

2. I make this affidavit in support of the motion of Respondents Fordham

University, Joseph M. McShane, and Keith Eldredge to dismiss the Verified Petition (the

"Petition") of Austin Tong ("Petitioner") and in opposition to Petitioner's motion brought by

order to show cause for a preliminary injunction.

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3. As a Duty Supervisor in the Public Safety Department at Fordham it is my

primary responsibility to ensure the safety of all of those in the Fordham community. To that

end, Fordham's Department of Public Safety provides 24-hour, 7-day-a-week coverage.

4. Part of my responsibility as a Duty Supervisor is to check on students or other

members of the Fordham community who may be a threat to themselves or others or who may be

in need of medical attention. These types of interactions can occur for a variety of reasons

including as a result of information that the University receives from members of the Fordham

community or third parties.

5. While Fordham Public Safety Officers typically respond to incidents that occur on

one of Fordham's campuses, we will sometimes respond to areas outside Fordham's campuses if

we believe there could be an imminent threat to the Fordham campus community.

6. On June 4, 2020 at 9:05 p.m., I received a forwarded email from Fordham's

Associate Vice President for Public Safety, John Carroll, which was originally drafted and sent

by a Fordham student describing her concerns over an Instagram post made by Petitioner

depicting him holding a semi-automatic weapon. A true and correct copy of this email is attached

"A."
hereto as Exhibit

7. Due to the nature of Petitioner's post and the email I received from John Carroll, I

traveled to Petitioner's home and met Duty Supervisor William McSorley, also a former Deputy

Inspector for the New York Police Department, at the home to check on Petitioner to determine

whether he presented an immediate threat to the Fordham campus community or if he was a

threat to himself. Mr. McSorley and I were contacted because we live on Long Island and were

able to reach Petitioner's home quickly.

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8. Upon arriving at Petitioner's home at 10:19 p.m., I interviewed him in the

presence of his father, Xue Sun, and his girlfriend, Jiage Song, a Fordham alumna. Mr. McSorley

waited outside.

9. I asked Petitioner a series of questions regarding his Instagram post and his rifle.

10. During my interview of Petitioner he stated that he had legally purchased the rifle

that same day because he believed that he needed to keep his family safe due to the Black Lives

Matter protests that were happening in New York City at the time.

11. Petitioner also stated that his Instagram post was solely meant to commemorate

the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square hcident and was not meant to advocate violence

towards anyone.

12. In addition to the statements Petitioner made during my interview of him,

Petitioner also drafted a hand-written statement which he provided to me during that interview

"J"
on the night of June 4, 2020. A copy of this statement was included as Exhibit to the affidavit

of Keith Eldredge dated August 13, 2020 (the "Eldredge Affidavit").

13. In his written statement, Petitioner confinned that he bought the rifle seen in his

June 4, 2020 Instagram post that day out of a belief that he needed to protect his family during

the current Black Lives Matter protests.

14. Contrary to his contention in his Opposition, Petitioner specifically described the

rifle"
rifle seen in his June 4, 2020 Instagram post to me as an "AR15 in his written statement.

"J."
S_ee Eldredge Affidavit, Exhibit

15. Upon speaking with Petitioner and reviewing his written statement, I determined

that Petitioner was not an immediate threat to himself or the Fordham community. It was my

opinion that Petitioner, in that moment, did not present a clear and present danger and did not

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require immediate hospitalization. I did not opine as to whether he could possibly present a threat

to the Fordham community in the future.

16. At the time, I was presented with limited information given the urgency of the

situation and based my opinion solely off of the one email I was forwarded from John Carroll

and the information provided to me by Petitioner.

17. To be clear, at no point did I state that I did not believe Petitioner to be a threat to

the Fordham community at any point in the future. Logically, no one could ever make such a

prognosis.

18. Further, I also did not demand that Petitioner remove his posts from Instagram. I

merely suggested that he remove the posts given the concerns and fears expressed by others in

the Fordham community. I made this suggestion in an effort to diffuse the situation and to

prevent it from escalating any further. I did not make a promise regarding future disciplinary

actions.

19. Fordham's Public Safety Office fully supports Dean Eldredge and the rest of the

Fordham administration's efforts to keep Fordham's campus community safe.

JO ASEK

before me this
ARIEL E. RONNEBURGER
O |5 day of September, 2020. NOTARY PUBLIC-STATE OF NEW YORK
- No.02R06275409
n Oualified In Nassau County
o ry Public My Commission Expires 01-28-202t

The Notary Public observed the execution of this afulavit via audio-visual technology and signed the above in
accordance with the rules set forth in New York State Executive Order 202. 7 (and subsequent orders extending its
expirationdate).

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