A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of damaging Flock cameras throughout Highland, sheriff’s officials announced on Thursday, Sept. 3.
They used a license plate reader to locate him.
Deputies patrolling in Highland around 6 a.m. on Aug. 21 found multiple automated license plate reader cameras vandalized and significantly damaged, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
The vandalism comes amid outrage over automated license plate reader technology, particularly Flock-brand cameras, across the country.
Law enforcement agencies across the country have shared Flock data with federal immigration officials and officers have used the data to stalk people, including past romantic partners. Some social media users have encouraged communities to vandalize or tear down Flock cameras and other automated license plate reader cameras to protest the technology.
The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department has 271 Flock Safety cameras across 14 patrol jurisdictions and has recorded other instances of vandalism in recent months. Multiple cameras have been vandalized in the Morongo Basin Station area since March, including some believed to be hit by pneumatic projectiles, and, in May, multiple cameras were removed and destroyed.
A camera was also cut down in Adelanto and others were damaged in recent weeks, and another camera was damaged after being struck by paintballs in the Central Station area in April, sheriff’s officials said.
Investigators obtained video from several locations that showed a person and a vehicle. They then used automated license plate reader technology to identify the vehicle and the man, who was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 2, on suspicion of felony vandalism, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Prior to the arrest, investigators served a search warrant at the man’s home and found evidence linking him to the vandalism, sheriff’s officials said.
He was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.