Former Lyme Democrats turn to tracking technology to find stolen signs

27 September 2024 18:00 • Last Update: 27 September 2024 16:41

Old Lyme – As election season approaches, some political operatives are using tracking devices and trail cameras to locate stolen lawn signs.

Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Kim Thompson said two of the campaign signs she created for presidential candidate Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz were stolen this week on Littlefield Lane. The Apple AirTag devices he fitted with them tracked one sign to his neighbor’s house and the other to a house in Salem, near the Lyme border.

The half-dollar-sized devices, with prices starting from $29 each, connect wirelessly to smartphones, allowing users to see their exact location on a map.

Thompson said a trooper from the Connecticut State Police barracks in Westbrook responded to his call about the theft of the first sign.

“He went down the street, talked to his neighbor and took my sign back,” he said.

He attributed the theft to teenage antics. No charges were filed.

“I hope the parents apologize and the child learns a lesson that you can’t take people’s things,” he said.

He said a soldier from the Colchester barracks, which includes Salem, went to the address on Gungy Road where the second tracking device had signaled. It was said that the police were unable to retrieve the sign.

The social media committee also published Video footage from a trail camera of a man rushing to steal a sign He was coming down Four Mile River Road, his distinctive bald head lighting up in the darkness.

“At this point I would encourage people to put trail cameras on their signs,” he said.

The homeowner on Four Mile River Road did not want to file a complaint, according to Resident State Trooper Matt Weber.

Republican Town Committee Chairman Randy Nixon emphasized Thursday that the committee does not condone the theft of campaign signs.

“We fully support freedom of expression,” he said.

Nixon expressed full support for the use of tracking devices and cameras to identify perpetrators of sign theft.

This kind of behavior needs to stop, he said.

Nixon was unaware that Republican campaign signs had been stolen in town this year.

freedom of expression

Thompson counted at least seven signs stolen across the city in the last few weeks. He said someone with a tracking device was found at the dump on Thursday.

State police spokeswoman Sarah Salerno said criminal charges, when pursued, are based on factors such as the number of signs allegedly taken, the value of the signs, whether the property where the signs are located has a no trespassing sign and the presence of any signs. damage to property.

He declined to provide statistics on the number of sign thefts in the Westbrook barracks coverage area because there is no specific category for such incidents in the state police reporting system.

Salerno said people who call police about stolen signs often want to notify police of the incident but do not want to conduct a formal investigation.

The state Legislative Investigations Bureau reports that stealing, defacing or destroying polling place signs often results in criminal or misdemeanor charges for theft or trespassing.

Thompson described himself as apologetic when he repeatedly called state police about the “signature nonsense.” However, he said that the technological support from tracking devices made the job of the intervening soldiers easier.

“I think they were a little tickled that we put AirTags on the signs,” he said.

He pointed to signature theft as a First Amendment issue because it threatens free speech and silences voices.

“And on a personal level, it feels a bit like harassment,” he said.

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