You might expect someone taking down surveillance cameras to avoid being filmed. Jevon Martinez did the opposite.
The 44-year-old Rio Rancho, New Mexico, man recorded himself removing Flock Safety camera equipment around Bernalillo County on Sept. 2. He loaded the equipment into his pickup truck while explaining his reasoning to people watching online. The timing gave Martinez his opening.
Days earlier, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen had moved to end the department’s three contracts with Flock Safety. Allen cited concerns about privacy, data sharing and his confidence in the company. However, he still supports automated license plate reader technology and plans to look at other vendors.
Martinez apparently saw the remaining cameras as unfinished business. What happened next shows how quickly a fight over surveillance can turn into a criminal case once someone starts removing hardware they do not own.
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Martinez made his position unusually easy to understand because he documented it himself. In a Sept. 2 social media post, Martinez said BCSO no longer subscribed to Flock. He wrote that he was taking down the equipment so he could return it.
He also insisted that he was neither destroying nor stealing the equipment. Martinez described it as property that had been left unattended.
His videos carried the same message. “Since BCSO is busy, I know BCSO is busy, everyone who works for BCSO, I know you guys are busy, so I went ahead and helped you out,” Martinez says while driving his pickup.
The camera then shows what he means by “helped.” His truck bed is filling up with Flock equipment.
This also was not Martinez’s first encounter with law enforcement over license plate readers. Rio Rancho police had arrested him months earlier in a separate Sandoval County case involving the alleged removal and damage of three license plate reader systems. He faced nine felony charges in that case.
Martinez does not come across in the videos as someone trying to keep a low profile. Quite the opposite. “We got a bunch of these bad boys,” he says while showing off the equipment in the back of the truck.
Then comes the line that gives the videos an almost game-like quality. “Let’s see how much I can get in one day. That’s gonna be the challenge for everyone out there.”
At another point, Martinez tells viewers, “Not in my city, not in my state.” He also repeatedly calls the Flock cameras “tyranny trees,” a nickname that says plenty about how he views automated vehicle surveillance. Reports of his livestream show him dismantling one of the systems while continuing to explain his position. Martinez creates his own record as he goes, with his face, voice and actions captured on camera.
This is where Martinez’s social media explanation runs into an important problem. Bernalillo County authorities say he removed 10 Flock camera systems with an estimated combined value of $16,500.
However, only two were associated with BCSO. Authorities say the other eight were managed by neighborhood associations. That changes the picture considerably.
Martinez repeatedly described what he was doing as re
