A 62-year-old man in the US state of Ohio held an "I am a bully" sign at a busy intersection near Cleveland on Sunday as part of his punishment for bullying a neighbour and his family over a period of 15 years.
Edmond Aviv, sentenced by a judge to spend Sunday wearing the sign, was greeted by a boisterous stream of honking car horns, jeers and insults.
Clad in a hat and dark sunglasses, Mr Aviv sat slumped in a green plastic chair holding the cardboard sign that is punishment for his treatment of a neighbour, whose husband suffers from dementia, and her seven children, several of whom have disabilities and use wheelchairs.
His sign read: “I am a bully. I pick on children that are disabled, and I am intolerant of those that are different from myself. My actions do not reflect an appreciation for the diverse South Euclid community that I live in.”
Aviv was accused of calling the neighbour, Sandra Prugh, “Monkey Mama” as she held her adopted, disabled African-American children and of smearing dog feces on their wheelchair ramp.
The harassment went on for 15 years in the Cleveland suburb of South Euclid, Ms Prugh said in court documents.
“You wonder every time you walk outside, you turn to your left to see if your neighbour is there spitting, yelling, screaming at you and you don’t know why,” said victim Mike Prugh.
Mr Aviv pleaded no contest to fourth-degree disorderly conduct in March. South Euclid Municipal Court Judge Gayle Williams-Byers sentenced him to spend five hours on Sunday wearing a placard that must be readable from 25 feet away.
The judge also sentenced Mr Aviv to 15 days in jail, seven months’ probation, 100 hours of community service, anger management classes and mental-health counseling, according to court records.
“I would hope that’s what’s been achieved here is finally the modicum of justice that they had been hoping for for quite some time,” said Judge Williams-Byers.
But local city council member Ruth Gray said the punishment may not be enough.
“I’m disturbed. I think that we as a community need to ask some questions,” Ms Gray said.
A probation officer was on hand on Sunday to protect Mr Aviv and make sure he served out his sentence.
Dan Cisco was among the passersby who stopped to look at Aviv and his sign.
“I’m sorry means nothing,” said Mr Cisco. “It’s when you feel that you’re sorry and understand what you did is wrong - that’s when change comes.”
Ms Prugh said Mr Aviv has spit on her, tried to run down her wheelchair-bound daughters and directed spotlights at her windows at night, according to court documents.
Last year, authorities discovered Mr Aviv had cut a hole in his garage wall and was using a fan to blow kerosene fumes into Ms Prugh’s back yard.
Mr Aviv must also publish a letter of apology to Ms Prugh in a local newspaper.
Reuters