Residents Question Police Response To Lawrence Bias Incident

LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ — An incident in which two Lawrence Township High School students allegedly peed on a middle school student while using racial slurs against her and three other girls has drawn outrage from officials and the community.

Some in the community are questioning why police and security on the scene didn’t do more to stop it when it was happening. Both the police department and school district officials said they weren't aware of the incident until after it was over.

“I think they thought it was just kids being unruly, and they told them to stay away from them,” Jonette Smart, President of the Trenton Branch of the NAACP, said. “My understanding is that the officers weren’t told it was a bias crime, but kids wouldn’t describe something as a bias crime.”

The suspects are 17-year-old upper classmen of Indian descent, and they are accused of using racial slurs, including the N-word, against four African American girls during the third quarter of Friday night’s football game at Lawrence High School.

None of the students in the incident have been identified. It was unclear if the suspects were still attending school, and Kasun said punishments would be handled as appropriate once the investigation is complete.

Members of the community have said the students attempted to tell police what was happening, but those warnings were ignored. At a press conference Tuesday morning, Lawrence Township Police Chief Brian Caloairo said there were five police officers at the game on Oct. 18, and none of them reported being told about any bias incidents at the game.

He said he was first alerted of the incident late Friday night, when Mayor Christopher Bobbitt called him at home. Coloairo immediately called the police department, and they said no incidents had been reported at the game other than a teen being arrested for underage drinking and drug possession.

Lt. Joseph Lech was told by students he interviewed during the investigation that they did go to someone, but they weren’t specific about who they went to. There was also school security at the game, but Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ross Kasun said none of them were approached by any students.

Smart believes the students approached someone in authority while they were being called names, but before the suspects urinated on the victim.

On Saturday morning, Coloairo received a link from Bobbitt that included a Facebook post made by the victim’s mother describing what had happened.

During an ensuing investigation by the Lawrence Police Department and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, detectives interviewed the four victims and other students, received tips from the community and analyzed two videos that showed a portion of the incident, Lech said. It occurred in the auxiliary overflow portion of the bleachers.

The suspects were arrested at about 7:15 p.m. without incident and charged with multiple counts of bias intimidation, harassment and lewdness, police said. They were released pending an appearance in juvenile court.

No further information was released, as the investigation continues and additional suspects may face charges, police said. Anyone with additional information regarding the incident is asked to call Detective Dan Gladney or Lech at 609-896-1111.

Read more here: 2 Arrested For Peeing On Students At Lawrence Football Game

“The principals at the high school and the middle school have addressed the students, and teachers and counselors are available to talk to the students,” Kasun said. “We will do more as we find out more in the coming days.”

He said on Monday, the kids came to school as though it was a normal day.

“They are disappointed in how we are being portrayed,” Kasun said. “It looks like we have a student body that is not tolerant of each other. … They want everyone to know this is not a picture of who we are as a district. They want to do something.”

The school district is among the top 40 most diverse in New Jersey, as ranked by Niche.com. Kasun said the population is about 40 percent White, 20 percent African American, 20 percent Asian and 20 percent Hispanic.

As a township, Lawrence is about 62 percent White, 16 percent Asian, 12 percent African American and 9 percent Hispanic, according to Niche. Bobbitt reiterated his previous comments that hate has no home in Lawrence Township.

“I would ask that the next time you go to the Quaker Bridge Mall and you look around, really look at the people,” Bobbitt said. “Don’t look at them as teens with their grandmothers. Really look at their faces. Look at them for who they are. … Bigotry is a cancer, and like a cancer, it doesn’t go away. It’s still there, and when it pops up, we need to take appropriate action. We all need to work together to address this.”

Smart said most of the members of the local NAACP are from Trenton, and other municipalities have said they don’t feel racism is a big problem in their towns.

“This incident shows it’s important for all communities to get involved,” Smart said.

Read more here: Students Hurled Racial Slurs, Peed On Girl At Football Game: LPD