Neighbor Calls the Police on a 12-Year-Old Boy Mowing the Grass
July 1, 2018
Brandy Fields
New York Times
Lucille Holt-Colden hired Reginald Fields, 12, to mow her lawn last month. Her neighbors called the police after he cut grass on their side of the property line.
In the video she streamed live on Facebook, Lucille Holt-Colden is effusive in her praise of 12-year-old Reginald Fields and his friends as they mow the front lawn of her Ohio home.
Reginald, who is known as Reggie and owns Mr. Reggie’s Lawn Cutting Service, can be seen pushing a lawn mower while another boy rakes and two girls shake open a garbage bag.
“All young people ain’t out here doing wrong,” Ms. Holt-Colden says in the June 23 video. “I’m loving it.”
Half an hour later, Ms. Holt-Colden was not so pleased.
In another video, titled “This is RIDICULOUS!!!,” a police vehicle can be seen in the background after a neighbor called to complain that Reggie had cut the grass on his side of the property line.
“If they would have been four white children, the police would not have been called,” Ms. Holt-Colden, who, like Reggie, is black, said on Saturday. “A lot of it is racially motivated.”
The episode in Maple Heights, outside Cleveland, was the latest example of the police being called on black people engaged in innocuous behavior, such as barbecuing, selling bottles of water, sitting in a Starbucks or napping in a college lounge.
Ms. Holt-Colden said she had spotted Reggie and some of his siblings and cousins pushing their equipment outside a store.
Impressed that they had all the tools needed to do the job, she gave the children her address and told them that her lawn needed to be mowed. They were working for about 30 minutes when the police showed up.
“I thought they were going to punish me for cutting the grass,” Reggie said on Saturday.
Ms. Holt-Colden was not surprised. “I automatically knew who was calling,” she said.
Since she began renting the house in October, Ms. Holt-Colden said, her neighbors have called the police on her at least five times, including when her children had a snowball fight and when her son parked his car on the grass in her backyard.
“I did not know I was getting the neighbors from hell,” Ms. Holt-Colden said.
Her neighbors see things differently.
Linda Krakora, who is white, said she had lived in the house with her husband, Randy, and their family for more than 30 years. She said that Ms. Holt-Colden and her family were the bad neighbors, and that their relationship had become so tense that she now communicates with her through the police.
“The police were not called on the young boy — the police were called on the garbage I have next door,” Ms. Krakora said. “We called the police to ask the woman to have the kids stop mowing on our property because we can’t talk to her.”
When her husband called the police about the grass, it had nothing to do with race, Ms. Krakora said. “I don’t have an issue with color or I would have moved years ago,” she said.
A spokesman for the police in Maple Heights confirmed that officers responded to Ms. Holt-Colden’s home but said that no action was taken.
Reggie’s mother, Brandy Fields, said she hoped the police were not called because her son is black. Her son comes from a family of entrepreneurs, she said, and is known to be outgoing.
“Everybody who knows Reggie loves Reggie,” she said. “I raise my kids to respect adults.”
After her video gained attention, Ms. Holt-Colden said people asked what they could do to help. She started an online fund-raiser that garnered $7,600 from nearly 300 donors as of Saturday afternoon.
The money will go to help Reggie expand his business, including buying a new shed for his tools and maybe even starting a college fund to help him study business someday.
“It feels excellent,” Reggie said. He said he was getting 15 to 20 calls per week to mow lawns, up from just four or five before the video.
Ms. Fields said she was overwhelmed by the response.
Referring to the Krakoras, she said: “I want to go over there and introduce myself. I want to thank them because they gave my son exposure, but I want them to learn to be open-minded.”
Ms. Holt-Colden runs a support group called Love Out Loud for teenagers who are grieving or feeling depressed. She said the episode came as the city was mourning the death of a 9-year-old Maple Heights girl who was caught in the crossfire of two groups of people shooting at one another in Cleveland.
“I always say what the Devil meant for bad, God turned into good,” Ms. Holt-Colden said. “That’s exactly what’s happening in this case.”
Brandy Fields
New York Times
Lucille Holt-Colden hired Reginald Fields, 12, to mow her lawn last month. Her neighbors called the police after he cut grass on their side of the property line.
In the video she streamed live on Facebook, Lucille Holt-Colden is effusive in her praise of 12-year-old Reginald Fields and his friends as they mow the front lawn of her Ohio home.
Reginald, who is known as Reggie and owns Mr. Reggie’s Lawn Cutting Service, can be seen pushing a lawn mower while another boy rakes and two girls shake open a garbage bag.
“All young people ain’t out here doing wrong,” Ms. Holt-Colden says in the June 23 video. “I’m loving it.”
Half an hour later, Ms. Holt-Colden was not so pleased.
In another video, titled “This is RIDICULOUS!!!,” a police vehicle can be seen in the background after a neighbor called to complain that Reggie had cut the grass on his side of the property line.
“If they would have been four white children, the police would not have been called,” Ms. Holt-Colden, who, like Reggie, is black, said on Saturday. “A lot of it is racially motivated.”
The episode in Maple Heights, outside Cleveland, was the latest example of the police being called on black people engaged in innocuous behavior, such as barbecuing, selling bottles of water, sitting in a Starbucks or napping in a college lounge.
Ms. Holt-Colden said she had spotted Reggie and some of his siblings and cousins pushing their equipment outside a store.
Impressed that they had all the tools needed to do the job, she gave the children her address and told them that her lawn needed to be mowed. They were working for about 30 minutes when the police showed up.
“I thought they were going to punish me for cutting the grass,” Reggie said on Saturday.
Ms. Holt-Colden was not surprised. “I automatically knew who was calling,” she said.
Since she began renting the house in October, Ms. Holt-Colden said, her neighbors have called the police on her at least five times, including when her children had a snowball fight and when her son parked his car on the grass in her backyard.
“I did not know I was getting the neighbors from hell,” Ms. Holt-Colden said.
Her neighbors see things differently.
Linda Krakora, who is white, said she had lived in the house with her husband, Randy, and their family for more than 30 years. She said that Ms. Holt-Colden and her family were the bad neighbors, and that their relationship had become so tense that she now communicates with her through the police.
“The police were not called on the young boy — the police were called on the garbage I have next door,” Ms. Krakora said. “We called the police to ask the woman to have the kids stop mowing on our property because we can’t talk to her.”
When her husband called the police about the grass, it had nothing to do with race, Ms. Krakora said. “I don’t have an issue with color or I would have moved years ago,” she said.
A spokesman for the police in Maple Heights confirmed that officers responded to Ms. Holt-Colden’s home but said that no action was taken.
Reggie’s mother, Brandy Fields, said she hoped the police were not called because her son is black. Her son comes from a family of entrepreneurs, she said, and is known to be outgoing.
“Everybody who knows Reggie loves Reggie,” she said. “I raise my kids to respect adults.”
After her video gained attention, Ms. Holt-Colden said people asked what they could do to help. She started an online fund-raiser that garnered $7,600 from nearly 300 donors as of Saturday afternoon.
The money will go to help Reggie expand his business, including buying a new shed for his tools and maybe even starting a college fund to help him study business someday.
“It feels excellent,” Reggie said. He said he was getting 15 to 20 calls per week to mow lawns, up from just four or five before the video.
Ms. Fields said she was overwhelmed by the response.
Referring to the Krakoras, she said: “I want to go over there and introduce myself. I want to thank them because they gave my son exposure, but I want them to learn to be open-minded.”
Ms. Holt-Colden runs a support group called Love Out Loud for teenagers who are grieving or feeling depressed. She said the episode came as the city was mourning the death of a 9-year-old Maple Heights girl who was caught in the crossfire of two groups of people shooting at one another in Cleveland.
“I always say what the Devil meant for bad, God turned into good,” Ms. Holt-Colden said. “That’s exactly what’s happening in this case.”
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