Billboard owner: 'HATE COPS?' message was sign of support

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) - The owner of a Muncie billboard company says a message he posted on a digital sign was meant to show support for police and wasn't racist as one woman who complained about it alleges.

Hometown Outdoor Advertising owner Gary Dragoo said the sign he posted Saturday was meant to remind the public about the importance of police. The sign read: "HATE COPS? THE NEXT TIME YOU NEED HELP CALL A CRACKHEAD."

"Our heart was in the place of supporting law enforcement," he said Wednesday. "A generation has lost respect for law enforcement."

He said the sign was in response to "current events." Police nationwide have been on high alert in the wake of recent killings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Dragoo said he decided to change the electronic message after learning that a liquor store that is adjacent to the parking lot where the sign is located was getting complaints. He changed the message to read: "LOVE RESPECT SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT."

Megan Thomas of Muncie saw the sign while walking along the Riverwalk with her niece and was offended, calling it "covert racism." She questioned why Dragoo didn't say "meth head" on the billboard, saying crack is more commonly associated with blacks. She also pointed out there was a Black Lives Matter protest about a quarter-mile away the same day the sign was posted.

Dragoo said her interpretation and those of some others about the sign "falls short," reiterating he was only trying to show support for law enforcement.