Black Fresno family says they were targets of hate involving a mannequin and noose
A family says they were recently the victims of hate in their north Fresno neighborhood, and police confirmed they are investigating the incident.
The Black family members woke Saturday to find a mannequin head in their backyard with the head’s face painted black and a belt fastened around its neck, according to a social media post shared both on Facebook and Nextdoor.
The belt resembles a noose, the post said.
The father said they are the only household on the block near Shepherd and Willow avenues with Black members so they believe they were targeted, and that the head was thrown into the yard from some neighboring apartments.
“Our family often deals with anything from ignorance, stupidity, or just straightforward racial comments and/or slurs,” the post says.
The family took it to police, the father said.
“This is obviously very upsetting to us!” the post says.
Reached by text message on Wednesday, the father declined to comment beyond the post.
Lt. Bill Dooley confirmed police are investigating the incident, but stopped short of calling it a crime.
He said police have not been able to determine for certain the family was intentionally targeted, which could elevate it to a crime.
“Detectives have scoured the area looking for surveillance videos and witnesses that may lead us to the answer as to how it got there, but so far nothing has surfaced,” he said in an email.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said that hate crimes against Black people in California were again the most prevalent among demographics in 2021, climbing 13% from 2020 to 513 reported incidents.
Over the past two decades, more than 410 people in Fresno County reported to police that they were victims of hate crimes.
Black or African-American residents were by far the most frequent targets of racist behavior. More than half of crimes in which race or ethnicity was identified as the motivation involved Black victims — that’s 122.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. ABC30 first reported the story.
This story was originally published July 6, 2022 at 1:03 PM.
