Leo, her orange tabby cat, woke Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell up a little after 3 a.m.
Before she returned to bed, she heard a noise outside her Boylan Heights home.
“I looked out the window and saw a large pickup truck idling in front of my house,” Cowell wrote in a recent campaign newsletter. “Its headlights were on. A man in the truck was having a conversation on speaker phone. I realized this is probably why the cat stirred.
“I observed and listened but could not make out the conversation. I turned on floodlights, which had no impact. I kept watching.”
This was on June 16, just days after a man shot two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses, killing two people, and had a reported “hit list” of 45 officials.
It was also before a man was charged with the attempted kidnapping of the Memphis mayor from his home.
This week, a man was charged with threatening to kill 41 North Carolina lawmakers over a shrimping bill.
“If he was going to commit a crime, would he keep his headlights on and talk via speaker phone?” Cowell continued in her newsletter. “That said, he has been out there for about 10 minutes, and it is 3 a.m. I called 911. I told them the situation, that I’m the mayor and — given everything going on — could someone drive by and check out the situation. “
Before a police officer could arrive, the truck left and Cowell called police back letting them know. An officer would still ride through the neighborhood.
“It all hit home,” Cowell said Wednesday in a brief phone interview with The News & Observer. “And, so then, two nights later [after the Minnesota shootings] to have a car in front of your house at the same time of the night was just disturbing.”
City Hall safety concerns
Conflicted about calling the police, Cowell told The N&O that the police have repeatedly said to call 911 if something doesn’t feel right.
“I’ve never called 911 before, so it’s not something I would do lightly,” she said. “But I just thought if you have any question at all, why not just call? This is not a high-risk situation, right? Somebody is going to pick up. Hopefully someone can drive by.”
City leaders have talked “behind the scenes” about safety and making sure protocols are followed at the downtown municipal building, she said.
“We will be getting home alarm systems for any city councilors that don’t currently have them and would like them,” Cowell said. “It’s a pretty low-cost way to get a two-way voice activated system for folks that are out in the public and making decisions that sometimes cause ire among your constituents.”
National tensions putting people on edge
Cowell wanted to share her story to empathize with the fear and anxiety many are feeling. ”With the rise of charged rhetoric, deportations, changes/uncertainty in federal policies, and tensions emanating from Middle East conflicts in particular, people are on edge.,” she wrote.
“Take time to take care of yourself, care for your neighbors and be patient and kind in your interactions with others,” she continued. “Know that I and the city council, city manager and police chief understand heightened tensions and want everyone in Raleigh to feel and stay safe.”
She acknowledged different groups “feel acutely vulnerable right now” referencing conflicts in the Middle East and increased federal deportations.
“[B]oth Jewish and Muslim residents feel at risk,” she wrote. “RPD works directly with houses of worship and faith leaders where there are credible or direct threats, as in the case of recent bomb threats to Raleigh synagogues.”
And it’s Hispanic community members who are “most directly impacted” by changes to visas, residency and deportations. Raleigh police will always follow the law, she said, but have “no direct jurisdiction” over immigration enforcement.
“I’ve reached out in recent months to various Raleigh communities who might feel vulnerable,” Cowell said. ”While I can’t remove existential threats, I and other city councilors can at least listen, establish relationships, and connect residents with city services and staff where appropriate.”
