'Crack Sold Here'

A disgruntled resident resorts to unconventional signage to protest the lack of police protection in his drug-ridden neighborhood.

1 minute read

November 16, 2003, 7:00 AM PST

By David Gest


"[A]fter his car was burglarized for the third time in three months, after the neighbors in his condominium complex suffered at least 20 similar smash-and-grab incidents, after the police seemed unable to meaningfully beef up enforcement, after the addicts and the prostitutes and the dealers acted more at home in his Oak Lawn [Dallas] neighborhood than he did, [Peter Fleet] decided to fight back with the only weapon he had at his disposal: the First Amendment...Holding up placards for oncoming traffic, he protests the criminal activity that is sucking the vivacity right out of his neighborhood: 'Crack Sold Here...No Police Zone...Free Car Stereo with a Purchase of Sledge Hammer.'" Fleet vows to protest until the crime stops, having little faith in the city's "ridiculous" crime-fighting techniques.

Thanks to David Gest

Thursday, November 13, 2003 in The Dallas Observer

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