South Carolina Arrests 3 Teens Over Flock Camera Attack Causing $5,000 Damage

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 27

Three 19-year-olds were arrested in Chester County, South Carolina, after authorities said they cut down a Flock Safety camera pole and smashed its battery pack with a hammer, triggering an explosion and fire on Aug. 15.
Damage topped $5,000, and the suspects — Blaze Fuller, Samuel Carlisle and James Ryerson — were charged with criminal conspiracy and malicious injury to personal property before being released on bond.
A nearby resident told local media the blaze could have spread to homes if rain had not helped contain it, underscoring the immediate risk beyond the destroyed camera.
The arrests land amid a widening backlash against Flock’s license-plate reader network, which spans more than 120,000 cameras in 49 states and logs over 20 billion vehicle scans a month.
That scrutiny intensified this week when Senator Josh Hawley opened an investigation into Flock’s national database, while some local governments have already moved to disconnect or remove the cameras over privacy concerns.