Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/71/7159.asp

10/17/2022

Shots Fired At Photo Radar Van In Cyprus, Cameras Blinded In France, Italy
Shots were fired at a photo radar van in Cyprus, while speed cameras in France and Italy were torched or spraypainted last week.

By Richard Diamond/Staff Reports
Shots were fired Friday at two police officers on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus as they sat inside a speed camera van on the A9 in the capital city of Nicosia. While the officers were not hit, the window of their vehicle shattered, causing minor abrasions to the back of their heads. According to police, a forensic examination suggested a shotgun was used in the attack.

The photo radar van drivers in Cyprus proved luckier than the driver of a speed camera SUV in Arizona in 2009. The driver, newly hired to the job, was murdered by Thomas Patrick Destories, a man with a history of mental illness. Destories remains behind bars in a state prison in Tucson until his scheduled release in January 2028.

Opponents of automated ticketing in Normanville, France, on Friday destroyed the speed camera on the RD155 by setting it on fire. On the previous day, vigilantes in Andolsheim had used orange spraypaint to blind the speed camera on the RD415, which had just been installed two days prior. On Saturday an attempt to set the camera on fire failed. White paint was used to thwart the speed camera on the RD437 in Le Coudray-Macouard. Vigilantes in Vendeuvre-sur-Barse torched the speed camera on the RD619 on Sunday, October 9.

In Tavazzano con Villavesco, Italy, a vigilante blinded the speed camera on the Via Orecchia with orange spraypaint on Friday.