Cameras catch litterbug

RUSSELLVILLE – Police have arrested one person and charged him with a misdemeanor after catching him last week on camera illegally dumping trash on the side of the road.

Police Chief Chris Hargett said his department had been receiving complaints of trash – particularly construction items – being dumped on the side of the road and not in front of a residence.

“Usually if a person is doing construction work at their home on their own, they can dump construction materials and the city will pick it up,” Hargett said. “But if a contractor does the work, then it is the contractor’s responsibility to remove the construction materials.”

Hargett said the only way to catch the person or persons dumping the material would be to see them in the act of doing so.

“We decided to purchase some cameras and put them in certain locations with the hopes of catching them,” he said.

It didn’t take long. On the first day the cameras were put in place and operational, they captured footage of someone dumping materials on the side of the road.

“We spent between $600 and $800 on the cameras and placed them in multiple areas of town, including Harrison Avenue where we had received several calls of criminal littering,” Hargett said. “We then posted a screenshot of the person on our [social media] page with the hopes this will serve as deterrent.”

Hargett said the materials which were being dumped on the side of the road included plywood, empty cans of paint and lumber.

“It was not your everyday household garbage,” he said.

Criminal littering, according to the Code of Alabama, is classified as a Class B misdemeanor. If a person is convicted of that crime, it carries with it a potential fine up to $500.