In New Baltimore, a suburb of Detroit, the owner of The Alien Body Shop tattoo parlor, Steven Jean, posted an offer on Instagram that turned into a viral meme within days. The idea is simple: bring him a Flock system camera and get a tattoo for free. The post was intended as satire on the growing dissatisfaction in the county with city license plate recognition cameras, but the audience took it literally.
The post was viewed by over two million people in a short period. The artist’s direct messages began to fill with photos and videos of damaged cameras – some had already “fulfilled” the offer’s condition. Jean himself is quick to clarify: the offer does not encourage taking or damaging someone else’s equipment. This is fundamentally important because damaging property installed in public areas has legal consequences.
Former Detroit Police Assistant Chief Steve Dolunt distinguished between two scenarios: accidental collision of a car with a camera and intentional vandalism. “It’s one thing if a car hits the device,” he said. “But when people deliberately paint over cameras, that’s a criminal matter.”