#Cops launch probe after black woman accuses Long Island neighbor of harassment

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A sign taped to the front door of the home of Jennifer McLeggan
AP

A black woman on Long Island claimed on Instagram that her white neighbor has subjected her to years of threats and race-based harassment that included throwing feces onto her property — but cops say there is no evidence of “bias” or “criminality.”

Jennifer McLeggan, a 39-year-old single mother in Valley Stream, detailed the alleged abuse she has endured since 2017, when she moved into her home, where she now lives “in fear,” according to a handwritten sign on her front door that she posted on Instagram.

“My neighbors have been racially harassing me since I purchased my home,” the sign reads. “They have said that I can be ‘erased.’”

McLeggan claims the unidentified white man next door has also told her to “go back to where I came from” and had friends spit into her yard, according to the sign.

McLeggan once caught her neighbor throwing dog feces into her front yard and caught him on video, leading her to win an unspecified judgment in court, she said.

The registered nurse and mother of a 2-year-old daughter told WABC she posted the sign in case she’s eventually harmed.

“In case something happens to me here, then somebody would know I’m in the house with a baby,” McLeggan told the station. “If I die in here, at least cops would see the sign.”

Cops met with McLeggan at her home Monday and held a press conference Tuesday in response to the allegations that gained traction on social media, WABC reports.

“At this time, we do not have any evidence of any bias,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder told reporters.

Ryder cited nearly 50 calls to cops between McLeggan and her neighbor since she moved into the home in 2017, saying the complaints came “almost equally” from both parties, Newsday reports.

McLeggan’s neighbor admitted having a pellet rifle and a pellet handgun, but claimed he only used them for target practice in his back yard, Ryder said.

“There is no criminality at this time from either side,” the police commissioner told reporters.

Ryder said he called the press conference to dial back tension between the pair.

“This thing is getting way out of control from what it is,” Ryder said. “Not that our victim is not important, not that our victim is not getting her attention, but at the same time we have to make sure we have the evidence and everything that is going to help us move forward and move forward in the correct way.”

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, who joined Ryder during Tuesday’s presser, said she urged residents to “take a deep breath” and let cops investigate the allegations.

“I want to make it very clear that hate crimes and bigotry have absolutely no place here in Nassau County,” Curran said.

A message seeking comment from Nassau County police was not immediately returned Thursday.

A rally in support of McLeggan is planned for Thursday in Valley Stream. She’s expected to speak after the event, according to her Instagram feed.