The NYPD took a scarecrow into custody on Wednesday after some complaints by community members. It was hanging on a noose from a tree in front of a Brooklyn home for a Halloween display, but overly race-sensitive councilman, Charles Barron said the dreadlocked effigy depicts a lynching. After some outcry, police responded and cut it down, saying they didn’t need permission since it was a city-owned tree.

But others are defending the homeowner, arguing that the scarecrow has been hung for the past several years and it’s meant to be scary, not racist. Neighbor Nicole Clemente rightfully put it into its proper perspective:

I don’t think that that portrays lynching. I mean, it’s Halloween, that’s part of the Halloween spirit. When I see a jack-o-lantern with a scary face on, I don’t get scared and think monsters are going to come get me.