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AMERICAN FORK — A total of 10 tires were vandalized on the patrol cars of three off-duty police officers as well as the personal vehicles of two firefighters. Investigators say the vandal left some critical evidence behind.
The parking area for patrol cars at the American Fork police station is monitored by security cameras. But this weekend, three police cars were moved across the street to a lot at the fire station because the police parking area was being resurfaced.
Firefighters first discovered the damage to the vehicles.
"One of our patrol vehicles had all four tires slashed, then two of them each had two tires slashed and then the firefighters' personal cars had one tire slashed each,” said American Fork police Sgt. Josh Christensen.
Police said had there been a serious emergency, they could have been shorthanded.
"Obviously, we need our patrol cars to be able to respond to emergencies, and so by having three vehicles out of the fleet, it limits us on how much we can respond,” Christensen said.
Detectives said blood found at the scene may help them solve this case if the DNA matches someone already in the nationwide criminal registry.
"We believe the suspect cut his finger, so we have some evidence we have collected we are in the middle of processing right now,” Christensen said.
Police say they have no specific motive for the vandalism and aren't taking it personal. Officers say they enjoy great community support, including last week's Police Night Out.
"We know the majority of our community supports us and they have our back,” Christensen said.
If you have any information that could be helpful in this investigation, please contact American Fork PD.
