The Associated Press
GLENDALE, Ariz. — A 26-year-old man faces criminal charges after being accused of using a pickax to attack a speed enforcement camera recently installed along a Phoenix-area freeway.
The state Department of Public Safety said Travis Munroe Townsend was arrested and booked into jail Thursday on a charge of felony damage and misdemeanor counts of interference with a traffic control device and criminal trespass.
The DPS said a motorcycle officer parked under an overpass heard loud banging noises and saw a man swinging a pickax at a stationary camera late Wednesday night.
According to DPS, the camera wasn’t damaged but it needed a new protective cover.
A DPS spokesman did not immediately respond when asked whether Townsend has an attorney.