The Sarasota Police Department discovered a damaged Flock camera on Monday, Aug. 10, on South Tuttle Avenue near Hibiscus Street in the city of Sarasota.
The camera, which has been offline since Friday, Aug. 7, had both its solar panel and camera damaged.
Sarasota Police told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that they do not know how the damage occurred, but it is being investigated as a crime. There are currently no suspects.
There are 57 Flock cameras in the City of Sarasota that the Sarasota Police Department maintains, with more across Sarasota County maintained by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.
Sarasota Police told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that the camera is expected to cost $800 to repair, and it is unknown when it will be back online.
The Sarasota Police Department said there have been no other Flock cameras damaged, disabled or tampered within the City of Sarasota.
What are Flock cameras?
Flock cameras are one company’s devices that operate as an Automated License Plate Reader, or ALPR.
Flock Safety, a private company, has a network of more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states that capture a vehicle’s license plate, make, model and color.
The network then provides law enforcement with access to a searchable, nationwide database to solve crimes.
A growing trend of sabotage
Flock cameras have also drawn opposition across the United States over privacy and surveillance concerns, with protests and instances of vandalism reported in multiple states.
77-year-old Carl Gunn lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, and protests a local license plate reader with a sign on a 10-foot pool skimmer that reads: “Down with Flock cameras.”
Some approach the cameras differently, as license plate readers have been shot at in Tennessee, hit with a truck in California, beaten with a baseball bat in Virginia, cut down with a saw in Texas and splattered with paint in New York.
The Sarasota Police Department is currently investigating the cause of the city’s first damaged Flock camera.
Additional reporting by N’dea Yancey-Bragg.
Michaela Galligan is an intern covering a variety of topics for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. She can be reached at MGalligan@usatodayco.com. Support local journalism bysubscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota police investigate first damaged Flock camera | Exclusive
