From the this-almost-feels-like-opposites-day dept., Meghan McRoberts reports:
An Indian River County man feels his privacy was violated after he captured Vero Beach police disconnecting a surveillance camera outside his front door.
Police were investigating a crime the man says he had nothing to do with.
Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey stands by his officers’ actions.
Of course he does. But this is a weird one – is removing surveillance a privacy violation? I think if we view it as law enforcement damaging or seizing property, then there’s an issue, but is it a privacy issue? Help!
Read more on ABC.
h/t, @LossofPrivacy
Sounds like trespass to me. And arguably a mild case of criminal mischief, cf. http://www.husseinandwebber.com/crimes/property-crimes/criminal-mischief/ although hard to believe the county attorney or equivalent would prosecute on these facts.
Thanks, Mike. I can’t see any criminal mischief. The police would likely argue that they disconnected the surveillance so that the perp who was presumably inside wouldn’t see what they were doing or how many there were.
Of course, their safety risks might justify their actions, but then why not fix what they messed up or at least live the homeowner an apology note telling them where to submit any repair bills. Somewhat foolish incident-handling, perhaps.