Three South Carolina teenagers allegedly turned a roadside Flock Safety camera into a fire hazard by chopping down its pole and smashing the battery pack with a hammer until it burst into flames.
The Aug. 15 attack happened before dawn on Harmony Church Road in the Edgemoor area of Chester County, where the Chester County Sheriff’s Office estimated the damage at more than $5,000, WBTV reported.
Investigators said the camera pole was cut down and the battery pack was beaten until it exploded and caught fire.
Blaze Fuller, Samuel Carlisle and James Ryerson, all 19, were arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and malicious injury to personal property, jail records reviewed by Fox News show.
The three were booked Aug. 18 and released the next day. Fuller posted $5,000 bond before his release, according to the records.
The fire left nearby Edgemoor resident David Cunupp thinking about how close the flames were to his own property.
“My house is over here,” Cunupp told WBTV while pointing toward his home. “Could’ve caught fire and burned if it wasn’t for the rain.”
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Cunupp said he was not automatically against the camera network, but he questioned why a private company had a role in the surveillance system rather than the DMV or another government entity.
“They could be used for good, but I don’t see where a private company’s got access or running it instead of the DMV or the government,” Cunupp said.
The Chester County damage case was not the only Flock-related incident involving people accused of attacking the cameras or misusing access to them.
In suburban Bloomingdale, Illinois, a law enforcement officer was put on administrative leave after officials said the village’s Flock camera system was allegedly used for an unauthorized purpose.
The village reviewed the Bloomingdale Police Department’s use of the system after concerns were raised about how officers were using the technology, according to a Facebook post.
Officials said the review was intended to confirm that the cameras were being used in line with village policies, police procedures and applicable laws.
The village has not released details about how the officer allegedly misused the system while the internal investigation continues.
Another South Carolina officer lost her job over allegations that she repeatedly searched the plate of a former romantic partner.
Documents from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy cited by KOCO said Ellie Anna Hammond, 24, was fired from the Maudlin Police Department on Aug. 3 after alleged misconduct between March and July.
Hammond allegedly ran the former partner’s license plate 166 times and claimed the searches were tied to a warrant check, traffic infraction and welfare check, according to the documents.
The documents indicated those explanations were not true.
Hammond has not been criminally charged in connection with the incident, and a Maudlin Police Department spokesperson told KOCO the department would not comment further because the firing was a “personnel matter.”
The most extensive vandalism case in the supplied incidents came out of DuPage County, where prosecutors said a 19-year-old from Glendale Heights damaged cameras, cut wires near an elementary school and kept writings that investigators attributed to him.
Police found five Flock automated license plate reader cameras spray-painted in Glendale Heights on Aug. 14, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
One camera had been left with cut wires. Two others had been removed from their poles and were missing.
Near Reskin Elementary School, officials also found damage to a pole-mounted speed radar unit. The solar panel glass was shattered, the unit had a visible impact mark and wires leading to the display had been cut.
Hayden Green, of Glendale Heights, was accused of carrying out the damage and thefts between midnight and 2 a.m. in Glendale Heights and Bloomingdale.
Green was charged with three counts of theft of government property and three counts of criminal damage to government-supported property, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Police later searched Green’s vehicle and recovered a bent Sawzall blade, infrared night vision binoculars and a notepad, authorities said.
Investigators alleged Green authored writings inside the notepad.
“The world as it stands today appalls me, the depravity, wars, rape, all of it distracted by the hands behind this deprecated society. All of these poor misled proud boys, pigs the lot of them shall be subject to my judgment. I will save the worthy and dispatch the vermin. This world needs someone to do the dirty work. They will fear me. I will cleanse this filthy world for someone has to.”
Green was arrested without incident after police obtained a warrant Thursday.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said the allegations were especially serious because they involved more than damaged license plate readers.
“The allegation that the defendant not only intentionally damaged numerous license plate reader cameras but cut the wires of a pole mounted radar unit near the school zone of an elementary school are outrageous,” Berlin said.
Berlin said damaging or stealing the cameras hurts police efforts to protect the public and warned that anyone accused of targeting the equipment would face an aggressive response.
“Damaging or stealing License Plate Readers impacts the ability of police to keep the community safe. Anyone caught damaging or stealing radar units or LPR cameras will be met with the full force of the law,” Berlin said.
