Troy, NY man charged with criminal mischief after Flock camera cut down

Event: July 29, 2026 · First reported: July 29, 2026 · 1 source

Troy police arrested 25-year-old Vincent Harrington early Wednesday after responding to a report of someone damaging a Flock automatic license plate reader near 126th Street and 2nd Avenue at 1:30 a.m. Officers said they found him nearby with a saw; he was charged with criminal mischief and attempted criminal mischief and released. The arrest follows three other Flock cameras being felled in Troy the previous Thursday night, incidents police say remain under investigation. The charges are allegations and have not been resolved in court.

Why this matters

The arrest lands in the middle of an unresolved governance fight in Troy, where the mayor and City Council are in litigation over how the ALPR contract was funded and where retention limits are still only proposed.

Key facts

Vincent Harrington, 25, was charged with criminal mischief and attempted criminal mischief and released; police said he was found with a saw near the damaged camera.
Three other Flock cameras were cut down in Troy the prior Thursday night; those cases are still under investigation, per TPD spokesperson Mary Magnetto.
Mayor Carmella Mantello praised police and called Flock ALPRs an important public safety tool; the Democratic-majority City Council sought to block contract renewal over privacy concerns.
Mantello declared a state of emergency to keep Flock funding flowing; she and the Council are now in a lawsuit over that declaration.
Councilmember Noreen McKee has proposed requiring 48-hour data deletion and limiting comparisons to vehicles tied to criminal investigations. Troy has 26 cameras at undisclosed locations, costing $78,000 per year, first installed more than five years ago.
TPD is auditing camera use; officials cited it as showing the cameras are useful, but McKee said on Monday that council members had not yet seen results.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

Troy man arrested for allegedly cutting down Flock camera (wamc.org, July 29, 2026)

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About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated August 10, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.