ORANGE PARK, Fla. — What normally reads as an electronic free COVID-19 testing sign was changed to a racial slur. Located between two Clay County schools, video shows that it reads “I hate” followed by the “N” word.
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“It trips me out this day and age that we still have that going on,” neighbor Darrell Mote said.
The Clay County Sheriff’s office said two signs had messages like these but deputies turned them off this morning.
United Rentals owns the equipment but a spokesperson told Action News Jax over the phone it was rented out by a company nearly three weeks ago.
The spokesperson said there is a panel with a keyboard in it with each sign to control what’s written on the screen. Action News Jax is told the panel was unlocked and the password for the keyboard was there, so somebody must have gained access and typed in the message.
United Rentals wouldn’t give out the name of the company which leased it, leaving neighbors like Darrell More frustrated.
“You left everything there for someone to come by and do that, so whoever the company is, what do they stand for?” Mote said.
While working on this story, Action News Jax saw a United Rentals crew checking on the signs and locking up the panels. The spokesperson for United Rentals said while they own the equipment, they don’t have control over them once they are rented, adding they couldn’t be more against what was written.
As for Mote, he called this a careless situation.
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“Hopefully, this can be a lesson for everybody involved,” Mote said. “Everybody can tighten up and even bring light on the derogatory statement that was made and we just got to do better, man.”
The spokesperson said in the six years he has been with United Rentals, it’s the first time something like this has happened.
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