(Beaver Dam) The Dodge County sheriff says a license plate reader camera helps spot stolen vehicles. They are part of the Flock Safety Cameras System, which are solar-powered and run on their own cellular network. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt explains how it works.
“[A] car drives past the Flock…the camera sees the license plate…it runs the license plate against our wanted vehicles…once that hit comes back it provides an alert to individuals that might be on the list of people to be alerted it also provides those alerts to dispatch,” says Schmidt.
Dispatch then provides that information out to the squads in the area and says, ‘hey we just got an alert of a stolen vehicle, this is the plate, this is the vehicle we’re looking for.’ And then our squads can converge on that area…try and locate that vehicle and stop it and recover it.”
A Beaver Dam Police Department’s Flock camera flagged a possible stolen vehicle Tuesday night around 8pm and officers were dispatched to the city’s north side. Officers attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle continued on, sparking a brief pursuit. The suspects struck several vehicles and ultimately crashed into a ditch.
As many as four suspects fled on foot. Personnel scoured the area with police dogs and thermal imaging tools. During Wednesday’s appearance on Community Comment, Sheriff Schmidt said one of his K-9 units was on the scene.
“My staff worked closely with Beaver Dam PD [Tuesday] night with our K-9 Unit and worked to get these people in custody,” Schmidt says. “They all did a great job…it was a great team effort.”
Two occupants were apprehended shortly after the incident and a third suspect was confirmed to be in custody Wednesday morning. An officer and two of the juvenile suspects sustained minor injuries from the crashes. All were treated and released from the hospital. The suspects are facing numerous charges.
The last known whereabouts of the fourth juvenile suspect was in the area of North Spring Street and Woodland Drive. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Beaver Dam Police Department.
