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Concerned Green Bay mom's sign warning drivers to slow down goes viral

Posted at 9:38 PM, Aug 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-05 19:11:23-04

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Some say it's too aggressive, while others are praising a mother for taking a stand in Green Bay.

Jenny Thompson put up a sign last year that reads, "Hit my kids because you were speeding, you won't need a lawyer. That's not a threat, that's a promise."

Harvey St. in Green Bay has a speed limit of 25 miles per hour, but people who live here say that's often ignored.

"I don't want my kids hit. I don't. We could be riding our bikes and what if my son hits a rock and rolls into the street? That's not me being a bad parent. That's an accident," said Thompson.

Jenny Thompson, a mother of young children, says she put up this sign last year after she says a child on a bike got hit by a vehicle. She says some neighbors have been supportive.

"If I had smaller kids I would be doing the same thing," said Regina Jobelius, neighbor.

But Thompson has also faced threats and vandalism from others. Thompson's also taken criticism online after a picture of the sign when viral on Facebook for calling out other parents in her neighborhood.

"It hurts, because I'm trying to do something for this community. No one does. No one cares. I do. What was one of their kids?" said Thompson.

Even though the sign says it's a promise, not a threat, neighbors say some are taking it that way and    that's the wrong way to go about it.

"It just seems to aggravate people, so they stop here and peel out and try to antagonize, rather than cooperate with the sign. So it's not really working," said Barb Allow, neighbor.

Still, Thompson says she's not giving up.

"If I don't continue to make an awareness of it, who's going to?" said Thompson.

Green Bay Police say the only issue with the sign is the top part that looks too much like an actual speed limit sign, and is too close to the road. The rest, they say, is freedom of speech. 

Jenny tells us she will comply with whatever the police ask her to do.

TODAY'S TMJ4 sister station, NBC26asked police for more details on the accident Thompson told us about that lead to the sign and they say they couldn't find any record of it.

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