A Chattanooga man says his truck was vandalized over the weekend because he is a “white guy in a black area.”
R.D. Flowers, a 63-year-old single father who lives with his 11-year-old daughter in a duplex on Cleveland Street, awoke Sunday morning to discover the words “Get out my hood” written in ketchup on his truck. The vehicle also had been egged.
Flowers said he has lived in the rental duplex for four years, but vandalism and harassment started about two months ago.
“The talk from one of my neighbors is: ‘I’m a white guy in a black area and I need to get out of Dodge.’”
Flowers said he has had plants uprooted, rocks thrown at his residence and bicycle tires slashed.
He said he has filed reports with the Chattanooga Police Department. No one from the department could be reached Sunday night.
Flowers said he’s going to stay put because his duplex is affordable and because the harassment doesn’t scare him.
“Somebody trying to push me out makes me want to stay rather than leave,” he said.
Contact Michael Stone at mstone@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.