Police Chief Rejects 'Racist' Claim Against NJ Crossing Guard

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ — The Mount Holly police chief is defending a township crossing guard after a man claimed the guard discriminated against him by not escorting him across a street in the town.

The man made the claim in a video that made the rounds on social media, according to NJ Advance Media. The report said the Black man filmed himself crossing the street while the crossing guard, a white woman, sat nearby.

"So if I get hit by a car, we know who is responsible," the man said while also calling her "racist" and a "Karen," the report said. The video appears to have since been deleted.

Mount Holly Police Chief Cliff Spencer responded to the accusation in a post on the police department’s Facebook page on Saturday.

“I’m not going to sit quietly while one of our hardworking crossing guards is publicly insulted and criticized for doing her job,” Spencer wrote in the post. “Our crossing guards are out there every school day (in the heat, cold, rain, and whatever else Mother Nature throws at them) to help keep the children of our community safe. They take that responsibility seriously, and they deserve to be treated with respect.”

“Ironically, while attempting to publicly embarrass our crossing guard, this individual appears to have filmed himself disregarding the pedestrian signal and crossing against the displayed hand,” Spencer wrote.

He said the crossing guards “are stationed throughout town primarily for the safety of our school children. They are not personal escorts for adults who are fully capable of reading and following a pedestrian crossing signal.”

Spencer said the police department will listen to concerns and review what happened “if you have a legitimate complaint about one of our crossing guards (or any employee of the Mount Holly Township Police Department).”

“That door is and will always be open,” he said.

“What I will not tolerate is someone berating, name-calling, or attempting to publicly shame one of our crossing guards simply because she was doing the job she was assigned to do,” Spencer wrote.

He said the department would review the video of the crossing guard, “including the actions of the individual who recorded it, and any appropriate violations will be handled accordingly.”

"Our crossing guards look out for Mount Holly's children every single day," he said. "The least we can do is look out for them."

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