The Oviedo Police Department arrested a man on Aug. 20 after he destroyed a decoy Flock camera in a Florida sting aimed at suspected vandalism. The camera was one of several bait devices officers had placed after incidents of Flock camera vandalism concentrated in one area.
The arrest followed a fast sequence: the man cut the camera from its mount with a pair of pruning shears, threw it to the ground and broke it into multiple pieces before running away. Police said he stopped only after a sergeant turned on lights and issued commands.
Oviedo Police Department sting
Officers responded to repeated vandalism by setting up 3D-printed decoys. The decoys were not collecting license plate data, a detail that matters to anyone worried the bait cameras were recording travel information while they were being used as a trap.
The device the man destroyed was a decoy ALPR camera, and the arrest came on Aug. 20 after the damage at the scene. Police charged him with criminal mischief causing more than $1,000 in damage, grand theft involving property valued between $750 and $5,000, and damaging or taking a computer, electronic device or related equipment.
Flock camera charges in Fla.
The man said the cameras made him feel like a “constant eye” was watching him. He also said he had read criticism about the cameras online, and said the shears were only intended to be used to cut down the camera, not against law enforcement.
That account sits alongside the police description of a bait setup that did not collect license plate data. The practical result for anyone watching the case is simple: the arrest already produced three charges, and the department has said it had installed multiple bait cameras before this one was destroyed.
Aug. 20 arrest
The open question is how many decoy cameras were deployed and whether other suspects were being watched. For now, the case shows that destroying one of the bait cameras can lead to arrest, property damage charges and a theft charge tied to the device itself.
