Vandal caught on camera taking power tool to Flock cameras in Cypress neighborhood

CYPRESS, Texas (KTRK) -- An investigation is underway after multiple license plate-reading Flock cameras were hacked down in Cypress.

Surveillance video shows a person using a power tool to take down one of the cameras on Redoak Manor Lane around 2:30 a.m. on Friday. A second camera on the street was also cut down.

The Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office told Eyewitness News it’s investigating both acts of vandalism as well as two more on Windhaven Lake Drive and another on Barker Cypress.

“They’ve been here for a little while, and I tell you we’ve been safe, but now I’m kind of worried,” Cypress resident Jeff Sciba said.

Sciba said the cameras played a vital role in deterring and solving crimes.

“Think about it. If it’s your kid or grandkid or your wife, someone kidnaps them or there’s a murder, we have a way to trace people,” he said.

While Flock cameras have been in the Houston area for years, they became a lightning-rod topic this year.

Critics have expressed concerns about how the license plate data is being used, and multiple police officers have been investigated for abusing their Flock database privileges.

RELATED: Concerns grow over Flock cameras across Houston area amid investigations for possible misuse

In recent months, Flock camera vandalism has become a frequent occurrence.

“I can see both sides to it,” Cypress resident Andrew Hotard said. “As far as me, it really doesn’t bother me, you know, if it’s Flock cameras that are watching me, there’s a lot of other things that are watching all of us besides these cameras.”

The constable’s office said the cameras are owned by Harris County MUD 165, but the utility district didn’t respond to an email asking who would have to pay for the damage.

Perhaps just as perplexing as the vandalism itself was the message left behind.

The solar panels on two of the cameras were stamped with “release the Epstein files.”

“We are more worried about the affordability situation than we are the Epstein files,” Sciba said. “None of us even care about it. So why are you taking it out on us because you don’t like what people are doing in our government?”