WAUKESHA — Waukesha police are asking for the public's help in identifying a suspect accused of vandalizing a Flock Safety license plate reader camera on Wednesday evening.
Officers were dispatched at 7:39 p.m. on Wednesday to the area of East Sunset Drive and State Highway 164 after multiple callers reported a man allegedly using what appeared to be a pipe to damage a camera mounted near the intersection.
The suspect was initially described as a male wearing a black shirt with stripes on the sleeves, black hair, a black face mask, a winter hat or gray beanie, and black Skechers shoes. During the incident, witnesses reported the man ran into the roadway before fleeing north through residential backyards, including the 1300 block of Camden Way, while still carrying the pipe, according to police reports.
A caller reported the suspect allegedly yelling profanities. Another witness, an off-duty Wauwatosa detective, told dispatchers they photographed the suspect, the reports said.
Several Waukesha police officers responded and searched the area. Officers requested assistance from the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department K-9 unit, but the suspect could not be tracked, the reports said.
Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann confirmed the damaged device was a Flock Safety camera, an automated license plate reader (ALPR) used by law enforcement to capture vehicle license plate images and other identifying vehicle characteristics to assist in criminal investigations.
The incident remains under investigation.
Anyone with information about the identity of the person responsible is asked to contact Detective Bloom of the Waukesha Police Department at 262-524-3785.
Police have also released a photograph of the person of interest in hopes that someone will recognize the individual.
The incident in Waukesha follows another earlier this week in Mukwonago.
In the Town of Mukwonago, a sensor and solar panel that go with a sign alerting drivers of a dangerous intersection in the Town of Mukwonago was damaged.
The vandalism took place at the intersection of Sugden Road and Beulah Road in the Town of Mukwonago. Photos posted on the Town of Mukwonago Police Department Facebook page show what appear to be gunshots on both the sensor and solar panel, which were installed last year as a measure of safety at what is considered a dangerous intersection, according to Sgt. Brad DeGrow.
Police said the damage to the equipment appears to have been caused by birdshot or buckshot rounds from a shotgun. The amount of damage is estimated to cost several thousand dollars, according to the post on the department’s Facebook page.
The department has reason to believe the act was committed as part of a movement against Flock cameras, with the individual who shot at the equipment mistakenly thinking there was a Flock camera at the intersection, according to Degrow.
