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Resident alleges repeated trespass and harassment on North Randolph property; council asks staff to follow up
Summary
At the June 12 meeting a Lexington resident, Dawn Mays Johnson, told council she has experienced repeated trespass, alleged surveillance and racialized harassment at her North Randolph home since 2023 and criticized police response.
Dawn Mays Johnson, who identified herself as a Lexington resident at 411 North Randolph, used the citizen comment portion of the June 12 meeting to describe repeated trespass and harassment at her property that she said began in 2023.
Johnson alleged that groups of people repeatedly accessed her yard, left footprints and dug holes, and at one point had been on her roof. She said she heard racial slurs directed at her and that she had been threatened: “I heard them say, specifically, they wish they could catch my dog and skin him like a cat,” she told council. Johnson said she called police many times and that officers visited, but she described an episode in January 2025 where she observed officers speak with the people on her property and then depart without making arrests; she said the intrusions continued.
Johnson said she had not received a satisfactory response from police and told council she felt her civil rights had been violated. Mayor Friedman responded that he was “sorry that you've had to resort to come to council” and said the city manager would follow up and seek an end to the disturbance; Johnson replied that she did not believe that assurance and said she would pursue legal remedies.
No council action was taken during the meeting beyond the pledge to have city staff follow up. The account is reported as Johnson presented it during public comment; the city attorney and police department were not asked to present a response at the meeting.
