A speed camera operator with a criminal record used violence to end a peaceful protest in Tempe, Arizona earlier this month. Corey Fleetwood, 35, is an employee of Australia-based Redflex Traffic Systems. On the evening of October 3, Fleetwood had set up an automated speed trap on Priest Drive just south of 14th Place.

At around 11pm, D.T. Arneson, a volunteer for the group camerafraud.com, noticed the Redflex camera van was parked in front of a fire hydrant. He called the police to report the violation and began to protest the photo ticketing effort by holding a "SCAMERA" sign in front of the van. He was soon joined by two female motorists saw the sign and wanted to join in. All three were encouraged by the honks and acknowledgments of passing motorists, which enraged Fleetwood. The six-foot-five, 265 pound operator rushed out of the van. Arneson, a much smaller man, began to back away. Fleetwood yanked the sign out of Arneson's hands and threw it to the ground.

When police arrived, Arneson insisted that Fleetwood be charged. He estimated the cost to replace his sign, which was taken into evidence, at $35.

"A visual inspection of the sign revealed minor damage to the surface paint on the right side and bottom right corner," the Tempe police report stated.

According to the report, Arneson had told the two women that he drivers of speed camera vans "are not nice people." In September, for example, another operator was accused of nearly running motorists off the road with a Redflex speed camera van. He was charged with driving the photo radar vehicle under the influence of alcohol. According to Arizona court records, Fleetwood has also faced serious charges in the past. Although his job was to set up the van to mail moving violation notices to other drivers, less than two months earlier, Fleetwood was unable to drive legally himself. In February, Fleetwood had received his own speeding citation. When he failed to pay, the court suspended his license. In a 2007 incident, Fleetwood was accused of "touching with intent to injure."

The incident was videotaped, and the official Tempe police report is available now in a 3.7mb PDF file at the source link below.