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Sheriff's Officials Investigate Road Sign Slur

YPSILANTI (WWJ) - A racial slur slapped on an electronic Washtenaw County Road Commission Sign in Ypsilanti is launching a full-blown investigation by the Sheriffs' office.

Someone put the phrase "God Hates" followed by the derogatory word up on the construction sign between Holmes and Ridge Roads in Ypsilanti.

WWJ Newsradio 950 spoke with Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Spokesman Derrick Jackson this was the first time he'd ever seen anything like it.

"There is the potential that it was prank. Right now we don't quite know exactly what the motives where," he said.  "It's hard for me to imagine why someone would do this -- to try to get in the head of someone who would put up a racial slur up on a construction sign," Jackson said.

Jackson said those black and neon yellow signs are not easy to compromise.

"I do know that they have some security measures in place that makes it a little difficult to reprogram a sign like that," he said.

Jackson says the sign was discovered Friday morning by motorists passing by -- and was taken down shortly after deputies arrived on the scene.

The incident remains under investigation.

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