New Jersey mother says 9-year-old daughter catching spotted lanternflies was racially profiled by neighbor who called police
CALDWELL, N.J. -- A New Jersey mom is speaking out about her 9-year-old daughter's terrifying ordeal. The little girl was trying to catch spotted lanternflies when a neighbor called the police.
What happened next went viral and the mom wants it to be a teachable moment, CBS2's Tim McNicholas reported Monday.
Monique Joseph said her daughter was afraid to go outside after the encounter in late October because she worried her neighbor, Gordon Lawshe, might call the police on her again.
"There was no misunderstanding of what he did. He racially profiled my child," said Joseph.
When Lawshe called the police, he described that 9-year-old girl as a small woman wearing a hood.
"There's a little Black woman walking and spraying stuff on the sidewalks and trees. I don't know what the hell she's doing. Scares me though," Lawshe told the 911 operator.
"He went out of his way multiple times to describe her, to adulterize her as a woman," said Joseph.
Turns out, the girl was only trying to spray spotted lanternflies, an invasive species she learned about in school.
Joseph shared her information with the officer and he said the girl wasn't doing anything wrong.
"With the wrong police officer in the wrong town, I could not have a kid to hug at night," said Joseph.
After that encounter, Joseph shared the story at a Caldwell Council meeting and urged the borough to use it as a teachable moment.
"I'm not a person who is gonna cower down. That is my baby," said Joseph.
After interviewing Joseph, we knocked on Lawshe's door to ask why he called the police.
"Talk to my attorney," said Lawshe.
"OK, I reached out to him. I haven't heard back," said McNicholas.
"That's because you guys just print whatever you want to print. You don't print the truth," said Lawshe.
"What's the truth?" asked McNicholas.
"I can't talk to you," said Lawshe.
Lawshe's attorney later told McNicholas that Lawshe did not know it was his neighbor that day and apologized to Joseph the next day.
