Squad cars get 20 flat tires after tacks spread at police headquarters, NC cops say

The police headquarters in one North Carolina town came to a temporary standstill this month, after someone scattered enough tacks around the parking lot to flatten 20 tires.

That’s just the flat tires on patrol cars, Hickory Police Department officials told McClatchy News.

“Several more” tires went flat on civilian vehicles that visited the lot on Second Street SW Thursday and Friday, Hickory Community Service Coordinator Chrystal Dieter said. The town of 41,000 people is about 60 miles northwest of Charlotte.

An exact number of damaged tires was not available because investigators say some civilian drivers don’t yet know they have nails in their tires, officials posted on Facebook.

As of Feb. 26, at least 10 additional “civilian vehicles” had flat tires after visiting the lot, including vehicles belonging to city employees, officials said in a press release.

“Citizens that visited the Hickory Police Department on Thursday, February 13th or Friday, February 14th are encouraged to check vehicle tires for damage,” the department warned, calling the incident “highly dangerous.”

“Incidents of vandalism to tires could cause potential vehicle crashes due to tire failure or, more importantly, the inability of emergency personnel to reach citizens in need due to inoperability of vehicles,” the department wrote.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced Feb. 26 that he was “offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.”

“This act not only caused extensive damage, but also potentially put public safety at risk,” Cooper said in a press release.

Fifty-plus half-inch metal tacks were collected in the parking lot with a large magnet in the both the staff and public parking areas at police headquarters, officials said on Facebook. The fact that the nails were in multiple spots is an indication that it was not an accident, officials say.

Tips are now being sought from people who may have seen something suspicious in the lot, and video footage is being studied to see if the tacks were tossed from a vehicle, officials posted.

“This is more serious than a mere damage to property,” Hickory Police Chief Thurman Whisnant said in a Facebook post. “This act put lives at risk and is inexcusable. Once we identify those responsible, we will pursue charges to the fullest extent to the law.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Squad cars get 20 flat tires after tacks spread at police headquarters, NC cops say."