Cleveland police investigate hate crime after KKK sprayed on woman's car

CLEVELAND - Cleveland police say someone spray painted KKK on a woman's car parked on the city's west side.

"My heart dropped when I first seen it and I was like 'not again,'" said Laquita Bradford. She awoke Sunday to the message on the side of her car which was parked on Lawn Avenue.

"If somebody put that on your car, that means they want to kill you, so I'm just really scared," explained Bradford.

She was able to scrub some of the paint off but the pain still remains. To make matters worse, it was the second time in three weeks her car has been vandalized.

"I could have took the graffiti, I could have took name calling, but KKK? I never had to deal with that. That was the stuff I've only seen on television that was going on back in the day," Bradford said.

Her neighbor, 55-year-old Henry Taylor knows the fear she's feeling. "It just tears me up. Words can't explain."

Taylor grew up in Akron and said he had his own experience with the hate group, Ku Klux Klan.

"At one time in my life, I was chased by the KKK," said Taylor, who moved to New Orleans and then to Cleveland, thinking those days were long gone.

Meanwhile, Bradford is also having to deal with answering tough questions from her young daughter.

"I'm so upset that I had to explain to her at 8 years old about the racism in this world," said Bradford. The mother said she can't afford to move right now, but will do her best to save up and get out of the neighborhood for good.

The woman told police she has been having some problems with a neighbor. Police questioned some neighbors on her street and continue to investigate.

If you know anything about the incident, you can call Crime Stoppers at (216) 252-7463.