911 Call On Child Prompts Plea For Race Dialogue In Caldwell

CALDWELL, NJ — A mom asked Caldwell officials for a "dialogue" on racism last week after a neighbor called police on her 9-year-old daughter — who was outside spraying spotted lanternflies.

Monique Joseph, who is Black, told the Borough Council at their Nov. 1 meeting that her neighbor made the call to police on Oct. 22.

"It is sickening and scary to hear my neighbor use triggering words that have resulted in the death of too many Black and brown children and adults at the hands of the police: Black, hoodie, ‘I’m scared,' " said Joseph, who had listened to the 911 call. "His ability to do something like this was not a mistake."

In fact, Joseph's daughter was cited in The Progress last week for finding ways to kill the lanternflies and save trees, as the state government has encouraged residents to do.

On Wednesday, Verona-based lawyer Greg Mascera, representing caller Gordon Lawshe — the co-chair of the town's Republican party — told the Daily Beast it was "absurd" to claim that the girl is now afraid of police after Lawshe's call.

"It makes real problems not be taken seriously," Mascera told the Daily Beast.

On Thursday, Mascera provided Patch with audio of Lawshe's 911 call, as well as bodycam footage of the police response.

In the call to police, Gordon Lawshe says, "Yeah, how ya doin' ... 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. I don't know what she's spraying on the sidewalks and the trees."

Bodycam footage shows an officer driving up at the scene. Joseph, the mother, seems incredulous that Lawshe called police, saying that someone else saw her daughter and simply commented that she must be doing a school project.

The officer has an affable chat with daughter and mom about lanternflies, tells the girl she's not in trouble, and leaves. Along the way, he stops and tells Lawshe the solution was water and the girl was spraying lanternflies.

Joseph told the Borough Council on Nov. 1, "I do commend the responding officer in this incident. My neighbor's word put my daughter in harm's way. My daughter was afraid to go out of her front door the next day. She was afraid that her neighbor, that she knows has a reason, unknown to her, has a reason to call the police on her."

She also said her daughter did not even have the hood up on her sweatshirt, so she's not sure why the caller mentioned it to police.

In the 911 call, Lawshe mentions the girl was wearing a "hood" after police ask for a clothing description. Joseph acknowledged this Thursday, but said the incident was still concerning.

At the meeting, Joseph told the council, "I want this to be a teachable moment for our town on racial bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion ... and ensure that going forward we can insure little Black and Brown children feel safe in this community. This is a very personal matter for my daughter. This is not political. I'm not here for a party."

The girl's sister, Hayden Wilson, 13, also spoke to the council, saying her sister had learned about the invasive species in school.

After that, the girl saw infested trees on the block and started spraying them with a solution she researched, Hayden said.

"She was not only doing something amazing for our environment," Hayden, 13, told the council, "she was doing something that made her feel like a hero."

She said Lawshe knows the family and should have recognized her younger sister.

"Usually if you see a child doing something that might not be good," she added, "you walk up to them or tell their friends ... No kid should have to be scared in their own town on their own street."

Mascera said Lawshe, 71, simply saw something suspicious from his back yard and didn't have his glasses on. Rather than have a confrontation, he called police.

"He sees something that certainly looks unusual, someone is spraying trees on his neighbor's property, so he called the police like a good citizen rather than create a confrontation," Mascera said. "Anybody who knows Gordon would know his track record ... The worst part is that people try to change the narrative."

Mascara said his client saw Joseph outside the next morning and apologized to her.

However, he said, Joseph still called a Democratic councilman to complain, then showed up to the council meeting days later and asked specifically if the Republicans would do something, making it political.

At the meeting, Caldwell Mayor John Kelley immediately apologized to the family after hearing Joseph speak.

“I'm so sorry you went through that," he said. "I'm troubled by it, ma'am, and I'm so sorry that your daughter experienced that. It's not something that's part of Caldwell. It's just not. It saddens me."

Kelley said, on Thursday, "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. As a resident and mayor, my initial response would be that racism is not part of our community. But it would be naive for me to believe so. Either way, this is a traumatic and disturbing experience for a Caldwell family."