A 12-year-old Cleveland boy’s lawn cutting service is receiving overwhelming support after viral video of the moment police arrived for a neighbor’s complaint about him cutting their grass.
Reginald Fields is the owner of Mr. Reggie’s Lawn Cutting Service, a business he runs with the help of his brothers, sisters and cousins as they spend the summers cutting grass and tidying up lawns in the neighborhood, News 5 Cleveland reported. Their hard work was interrupted, however, when someone called the Maple Heights police on them last week.
“They said I was cutting their grass,” Reggie, 12, said. “I didn’t know it!”
The young man’s customer, Lucille Holt, said she was baffled when she saw the cops, but later learned that the neighbors had dialed 911 to complain that the group had cut a small section of their property and were in their yard. The area is about a foot into where the two properties meet, according to the station.
“I guess I have a line where part of it is not my yard,” Holt explained. “They called the police to tell the police that the kids were cutting their grass. Who does that?”
https://www.facebook.com/lucille.gibbs/videos/10216708433653987/
Officers spoke with the neighbors in question and ultimately left without incident. Reggie said the incident left him feeling discouraged and angry, however.
“I was very angry,” he told Inside Editon. “Who calls the police on children?”
He could’ve never expected what happened next. Holt posted a video of the incident on her Facebook page, where it has received thousands of likes and views. Now, the young boy’s business is booming more than ever before, as more and more folks reach out looking for ways to help support his neighborhood business.
“People are inboxing me like, ‘how can I get in touch with this children? Where are they at? I’ve got property I want these kids to cut,'” Holt said, adding that Reggie and his team are getting calls from all across the city now.
Reggie told News 5 Cleveland he wants to save the money he earns to buy new equipment and help grow his business. A local business has already given him a headstart by donating lawn care equipment and showing he and his siblings how to use it. Also, a GoFundMe page launched by Holt for Reggie’s business has already amassed over $27,000 in donations.
“He has had so many tools donated to him. He’s had an outpouring of love,” Holt said of the young businessman. “To see young people working is a foundation to be a successful entrepreneur as an adult.”
