“I am lucky my son came home. I don't want to ever risk ever again having this happen to him,” Kelley Jackson said.
Kelley Jackson said on Saturday, her 14-year-old son Jakobi was out selling discount cards in the annual fundraiser for Enfield’s football team when he was allegedly called a racial slur and threatened by one of the homeowners he approached on Haynes Street.
“As he stepped on their property, a woman yelled at him to get the f*** of her property and then I guess the son opened the window, he is 22, and proceed to tell my son to get the f*** off the property or he will shoot him and then called him the n-word and proceeded to berate him as he walked away,” Jackson said.
Her son backed off the property with his hands in the air.
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“Because he just wanted to let them know I’m leaving and I have no problems,” Jackson said.
Jakobi notified his brother and the football coaches, who then called police.
Jackson said her son is a humble kid. He has played football since he was six years old.
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“He just doesn’t understand why this happens, why people are like this. He is going about life doing his thing, but he said he is used to this. He has heard it before, it’s not his first or last time but it shouldn't be that way."
-Kelley Jackson, mother
Enfield police say the incident was investigated and one of the residents admitted to uttering a racial slur. However, authorities say Jakobi and the resident had different accounts of whether any threatening statement was made.
“According to the police it is a he-said-she-said situation. The homeowner claims he did not make these threats,” Jackson explained.
As for the racial slur, officials say as deeply as offensive as the language is, the use of it standing alone does not violate any criminal law.
The Enfield superintendent sent out a letter to parents notifying them of what occurred.
"...There is no place in our places, our town, or quite frankly, this country for what happened to one of our students this weekend," Christopher J. Drezek said.
Drezek said he and the school's athletic director addressed the situation with the entire team. They also made counselors available to speak with any students who felt they needed one.
To see the full statement from the school district, click here.
The town manager reacted to Saturday's incident, saying what took place is not okay.
“I think I speak for most of the community, when I say we were both disgusted but also frustrated that we are continuing to have incidents like this across the country, state, as well as in our own town,” Town Manager Ellen Zoppo-Sassu said.
The town is hosting a community conversation on race, diversity and equity on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. on the town green.
