CENTERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS — Two men in a dark SUV tore off into the night after a savage road-rage beating left a Centerville man with significant facial injuries, sources say.

Barnstable officers raced to a local address shortly after 9 p.m. after a report of an assault. A Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills ambulance crew staged nearby until it was confirmed the attackers had already fled.

“It appears to be some type of road rage incident… the assailants took off in a dark colored SUV,” a patrolman radioed to a backup unit.

Once the scene was clear, medics treated the adult male victim for what sources described as “significant facial injuries.” Family members then drove him to Cape Cod Hospital. An investigating officer followed and continued the investigation there.

A BOLO went out immediately for two white males, both about 30 years old, last seen fleeing in what is believed to be a dark-colored Volkswagen Atlas SUV.

HN Note: One source noted that nearby Flock camera technology — recently rejected 7-3 by the Barnstable Town Council — could have given investigators a far better shot at identifying the fleeing vehicle and its occupants. Members of local law enforcement say they are still looking at ways to use available crime-fighting technology without crossing constitutional lines.

Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate readers that photograph passing vehicles and store plate numbers, color, make, model and other details in a searchable database. Police departments use them to hunt stolen cars, wanted vehicles and fleeing suspects.

Supporters say a dark-colored SUV leaving a Centerville assault would have been far easier to trace if nearby cameras had still been online.

The fight is over who else can search that data. Critics say the cameras log ordinary drivers, not just suspects, and that linking them into a regional or national network creates a warrantless record of everyday travel. Reporting nationwide has documented members of certain agencies searching local camera data, and officers misusing the system to track current or former partners.

Privacy groups and some municipal officials say the data has still reached federal and out-of-state users through national lookup tools and informal requests. That dispute is why towns across the country — and Barnstable, by a 7-3 Town Council vote on Sept. 3 — have moved to pull the cameras down.

Members of local law enforcement say they are still looking at ways to use available crime-fighting technology without crossing constitutional lines. In this case, investigators are working from a BOLO for two white males, about 30, last seen fleeing in what is believed to be a dark-colored Volkswagen Atlas…

… and for the time being, old-school law enforcement techniques will have to suffice.

* See HN’s most recent report and video regarding the ongoing debate regarding Flock camera technology, entitled, “WATCH: Barnstable Council Axes Flock Cameras in 7-3 Vote Despite Police Push” 

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