NAACP blasts Stamford’s response to racist incident

Jack Bryant, president of the NAACP's Stamford chapter, speaks during a press conference in front of the High Clear Dr. home where a racial slur was painted on the garage in Stamford, Conn. on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. The incident happened in mid-January and the word still remains. less Jack Bryant, president of the NAACP's Stamford chapter, speaks during a press conference in front of the High Clear Dr. home where a racial slur was painted on the garage in Stamford, Conn. on Monday, Feb. 20, ... more Photo: Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close NAACP blasts Stamford’s response to racist incident 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — More than a month after an interracial couple found a highly offensive slur spray painted on their garage door, the Bulls Head residents now say they are under attack by the very people who they hoped would protect them.

The City of Stamford has issued the couple a blight citation, which carries a $100 daily fine, for failing to remove or cover up the N-word in front of their home.

Homeowner Heather Lindsay, who is white, said she won’t remove the racial slur from her garage door until authorities “do their job” and “not just cover it up and sweep it under the table as they have done in the past.”

Lindsay said her home on High Clear Drive has been vandalized several times and at least three of her neighbors have yelled the N-word at her husband, Lexene Charles, who is black.

Several friends and representatives of the local and state NAACP chapters held a news conference outside the couple’s home Monday morning to condemn the Jan. 14 incident and denounce the city’s response.

“For them to be called nig----, it must be so hurtful that they can easily just erase the board and suffer within, quietly by themselves, and act like nothing happened,” said Darnell Crosland, legal counsel for the state NAACP. “And in fact, that’s what the Stamford police asked them to do. They were requested to take the sign down... and to just act normal, like nothing happened.”

The attorney called on the Stamford Police Department to conduct a full investigation of the incident and assure the couple that they are safe.

“What we want you do to is to go canvass this neighborhood and find out who did this,” Crosland said. “What we want you to do is to put a patrol car out here and act like you give a damn, and make sure these people are protected.”

More Information "You are directed to remove, correct, or abate the above violations within seven (7) calendar days from the date of this notice. Any failure to remove, correct or abate the violations, shall result in the issuance of a citation in accordance with the ordinance with fines imposed of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day for each day the Blighted Property remains in violation, which can be enforceable as a lien on your property, and which may also be converted into a Court Judgement, and may cause the removal or abatement of the violation at your expense." Excerpt from a notice of blight violation issued by the City of Stamford’s Office of Operations on Feb. 7, 2017.

No witnesses

Authorities said they are fully investigating the case.

“The incident that occurred is disgusting and it is something the Stamford Police Department continues to have under investigation,” Ted Jankowski, the city’s director of public safety, said in an emailed statement.

Jankowski said officers spoke with the homeowner and neighbors but could not find a witness who saw or heard anyone spray painting the sheet-metal garage door. The few security cameras in the are did not capture the incident, he said.

The police department has repeatedly offered to remove the racial slur from the property at no cost and Chief Jon Fontneau personally spoke with the couple, but the homeowner has refused the offer, Jankowski said.

“The neighbors were very upset when the incident occurred and truly felt for the couple,” Jankowski wrote. “However, the residents who have condemned the racial incident are upset and are complaining about continuing to see the racial slur and how it is disturbing the peace in the quiet neighborhood.”

’Lasting effect’

One of the neighbors said Monday she does not remember seeing a similar racist incident in the neighborhood since she moved there in the 1970s. Another neighbor, Paul Evanko, said he understands the seriousness of the incident, but he hopes the word gets covered soon.

“There are kids in this neighborhood,” he said. “Why do we have to subject them to that?”

Crosland said removing the word could make the home a target again.

“We say ‘no’ to that,” he said. “They’re not going to suffer alone. We’re going to suffer with them.”

Lindsay, who’s lived in the home since 1990, has a foreclosure trial on her house scheduled for March 7. The woman said she’s also been served with other blight notices because of what she described as unfounded complaints from some of her neighbors.

Lindsay said she and her husband, who moved in with her in 1999, have not been able to sleep since the racial slur was painted on their garage on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday weekend.

Their supporters on Monday urged authorities to question at least three specific neighbors who Lindsay said have discriminated against the couple in the past.

“We want those people investigated,” said Andre Cayo, the family’s attorney. “We want those doors knocked on. We want their basements to be searched for spray cans.”

Jack Bryant, president of the Stamford NAACP, said the slur is “profoundly offensive” and a “scathing insult” that will have “a lasting effect not only on the family residing in that house, but also on Stamford as a community.”

“One of Stamford’s strengths is the diversity of its population,” he said. “We all should feel safe and comfortable living here, no matter what race.”

noliveira@stamfordadvocate.com, 203-964-2265, @olivnelson