The mother of a nine-year-old girl is outraged after their neighbor called the police on her daughter for trying to kill laternflies, pests that feed on woody plant species.
On October 22, Monique Joseph attended a city council meeting in New Jersey and said that her daughter, who is Black, was outside playing and searching for insects when their neighbor Gordon Lawshe, who is White, called the police.
“There’s a little Black woman, walking, spraying stuff on the sidewalks and trees on Elizabeth and Florence. I don’t know what the hell she’s doing, scares me though,” Lawshe told police in a recorded call obtained by The Daily Beast. He added that she’s a “real small woman.”
The “small woman” was Bobbi Wilson, 9, who sprays insecticides on the laternflies to prevent them from killing trees. Lanternflies are known to eat away at trees and damage their exterior by constantly feeding on them. The girl’s efforts in protecting the trees landed her an article in a local newspaper called The Progress.
The mother to the child was livid that her neighbor would call the police on her child and says it was an act of racism.
“Racism, intentional or not, is still racism,” Joseph said at the city council meeting.
“My neighbor’s words put my daughter in harm’s way. His words and actions were unconscionable, and the impact of the aftermath of this incident will not be kept secret. My nine-year-old daughter was afraid to go outside her front door the next day. She was afraid that her neighbor that she knows has a reason, unknown to her, to call the police on her,” Joseph said, according to The Daily Beast.
To assuage the incident, city officials invited Joseph and her daughter to the West Caldwell Police Department, where they were given a tour and an opportunity to discuss race relations, The Progress reported.
“I want this to be a teachable moment for our town on racial bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion in how we, together, can ensure that go[ing] forward, little Black and Brown children in this town can feel safe in this community,” Joseph said.
She said the neighbor has not responded to her request to meet, but the neighbor’s attorney said that his client was not engaging in racial profiling.
The mother’s claim that her daughter now faces trauma and fears the police is “absurd,” adding that the woman’s concerns “makes real problems not be taken seriously,” said the neighbor’s attorney, Greg Mascera.
Caldwell Mayor John Kelley has issued an apology about the situation. “I’m glad you shared this with us, with the public,” he told her at the council meeting. “After reflecting on the story and learning more from the police report, it is clear that a line was crossed. My heart goes out to Monique and her two girls.”
