A McDonough man was arrested Thursday for damaging Flock cameras at East Cobb Park and in the parking lot of the Providence Square Shopping Center.
According to an arrest warrant, Colby Williams, 25, shot projectiles at four cameras and caused extensive damage to them during a Monday night spree.
His vehicle was identified by the very cameras he is accused of seeking to destroy, and that’s how he was taken into custody, according to the warrant.
Williams is facing four counts of third-degree arson, four counts of criminal property damage and one count of interference with government property, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of reckless conduct.
He was arrested Thursday morning at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center and is being held without bond, according to his booking report.
Ironically, the incidents took place a few hours after Cobb Police Chief Dan Ferrell held a town hall meeting in East Cobb to explain his department’s use of Flock cameras.
According to his warrant, Williams went to East Cobb Park Monday night after 10 p.m. and shot something at one of the two Flock cameras there, “causing two large melted spots to the camera.” The warrant also states that Williams “placed a sticker on the camera that said ‘Deflock’ with a picture of a QR code.”
Deflock is an open-source project that locates automated license plate readers (ALPR), which have become a source of increasing controversy across the country.
Williams’ warrant continues that he went to Providence Square, less than two miles away on Roswell Road, and also shot projectiles at Flock cameras belonging to Home Depot. According to the warrant, two cameras caught fire, with some nearby foliage also catching fire.
Bullet holes were discovered on the third Home Depot camera, and the warrant said that the incidents took place with Home Depot employees nearby, with one witness hearing “loud pops as the projectiles were fired.”
As with the East Cobb Park camera, the cameras at Home Depot also captured Williams’ vehicle during the incidents, and it matched his 2013 gray Volkswagen GTI, according to the warrant.
Police did not specify what kind of projectiles were shot at the cameras.
Cobb Police have 182 Flock automated license plate readers (ALPR), including two at East Cobb Park that are used to help locate suspects and missing persons as well as stolen vehicles individuals who may be of interest in criminal investigations.
A number of incidents in Georgia and around the country have taken place alleging or involving law enforcement misuse of some of that technology, including for non-police and even personal use.
Some personnel have been suspended or fired in Cherokee and Paulding County as well as in Macon.
During a Monday town hall at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, Ferrell told a crowd of nearly 200 people that Cobb has not had any such incidents, and conducts a yearly audit of how staff have made use of the data from the cameras.
“We’ve never had that type of violation,” Ferrell said. “Our department has been audited from day one.”
Still, Ferrell said, “the risk of misuse is real and the concerns are legitimate.”
Unless data taken from the cameras is needed for a continuing investigation, it’s deleted after 30 days, he said, but that didn’t quell some of the skepticism from the audience.
One citizen noted that law enforcement has had other types of surveillance cameras and other types of tracking devices, and asked “what’s so special about these cameras?”
Ferrell responded that the license plate readers have helped Cobb Police solve major crimes.
The suspect in a child molestation case at a park had been released from prison after 10 years for child molestation, and Ferrell said that the Flock cameras were crucial in making an arrest.
Without them, “he’d still be loose, and how many more children might this suspect have molested?”
Ferrell said that Flock cameras “give you a certain type of lead that could be critical” in some cases. “It’s not going to solve everything.”
The Cobb Police Department has set up what it calls a “transparency portal” with statistics abou its Flock cameras and details department policy governing them.
Ferrell said any member of the public wishing to get more information can contact Cobb Police at [email protected].
Related:
- Crime blotter: East Cobb teen charged with raping minor girl
- East Cobb man charged in Johnson Ferry ‘road rage’ incidents
- East Cobb man charged with making Kennestone threats
- East Cobb News Explainer: How we cover crime reports and mug shots
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