The camera was discovered hidden in an air vent of the Shertz, TX animal shelter (near San Antonio). It is worth noting, though, that there was apparently no criminal charges brought, as the camera was located in a public area and there was no audio being recorded. It’s discovery did prompt a search of other city facilities where another camera was found in a storage area, but was determined to be intentional, related to a specific security problem.
Hidden camera was discovered in animal shelter office.
Shertz, TX, San Antonio Express News
The recent discovery of a hidden camera in the city animal shelter won’t spur a criminal prosecution, authorities say, but is the subject of an ongoing internal inquiry, and it factored into the dismissal June 2 of longtime City Marshal Mike Harris.
Harris’ office had jurisdiction over the building, where employees found the camera concealed in an overhead vent in the foyer on May 17, according to city spokeswoman Linda Klepper.
Klepper reported that two staffers had resigned and one was terminated there prior to the firing of Harris, who could not be reached for comment.
The discovery of the camera prompted a search of other city facilities, she said, which turned up another concealed camera “focused on an office/storage area doorway related to a specific loss prevention concern.” …
That news upset Councilman Bert Crawford and others seeking information.
The covert video camera was installed in an air vent.
“I want to discuss this to find out why we didn’t get an independent third-party investigation by the Texas Rangers,” said Crawford.
There may have been no formal investigation because it was determined that the installation of the camera had not violated any state law. That finding came June 5 from Guadalupe County Attorney David Willborn, who said he based it on information from the Texas Rangers and Schertz police.
Key factors were police accounts that the video recordings lacked sound and that the camera was in a building foyer that was open to the public, as opposed to somewhere private.
“If there is no audio, then it’s not a violation of one of the Texas criminal statutes that prohibits intercepting oral communications,” Willborn said. “The illegal filming statutes only deal with filming someone in an area where there’s an expectation of privacy or the filming of someone’s intimate areas. This camera, to my understanding, was put in an area where no one could see it, in a public foyer, and did not film someone’s intimate area.”