Woman accused of threatening to kneel on Black boy’s neck for breaking her son’s toy: officials

A New Hampshire woman is accused of threatening to kneel on a Black boy’s neck after her son told her the victim had broken his toy, according to a newly filed civil rights complaint.

Kristina Graper, 51, also used a racial slur during her alleged verbal attack and again while speaking to police after the May 10 incident at a neighborhood park in the city of Dover, prosecutors said in a complaint filed in civil court last week.

The 9-year-old victim told authorities he was playing with Graper’s son at the park that day when the boy pushed him, which caused the victim to accidentally break his friend’s foam missile or bullet. Graper’s child ran home to tell his mother what happened, leading to the racist attack moments later, according to the complaint.

The boy ran away from the park, but Graper caught up to him and threatened to knee on his neck in front of at least one bystander who heard the horrific attack, prosecutors said. The victim understood the alleged threat to be a reference to the murder of George Floyd, the unarmed Black man who died after now-convicted Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes in May 2020.

Graper also yelled at the bystander for telling her that her behavior was unnecessary and then screamed the N-word before leaving the scene, the complaint alleges.

During an investigation, police went to Graper’s home about three weeks later and spoke to her about the incident. The defendant initially said she could not recall what happened and denied threatening the child. But she admitted to saying something like, “you wonder why you guys get f-----g kneeled on,” according to the complaint.

Graper also denied calling the victim a racial slur but later told the officer — while using the same racial slur she’d just denied using — that “they” do not know how to shut their “pie hole,” according to the complaint.

Since that incident, the boy has been afraid to return to the park and will only do so if other children are there to keep him safe, prosecutors said.

The civil rights complaint says Graper’s alleged attack was motivated by the victim’s race. Her own race has not been released.

Graper’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. If convicted, she could face a maximum civil penalty of $5,000.