Clark Country Detective Scottie Maples, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, was celebrating the 4th of July with his family at home on Saturday night. They were in the driveway and were approached by a man who was putting firecrackers in water bottles.
“He had an American flag and he set it on fire in front of me and started waving it and saying, ‘this is America it’s my freedom to do this,’” said Maples. “I told him I was an officer and we sent him on his way.” Maples instructed his family to go inside.
According to WRDB, a neighbor saw the man run from Maple’s property around 6:30AM on Sunday morning after shooting a bottle rocket at the detective’s residence.
Maples walked outside in the morning to find a burnt flag on the street, human feces on his welcome mat and the windshield of his wife’s car, and a syringe and razor blade on his front steps. He found another burnt flag in his mailbox.
“There was a needle that didn’t have a cap on it that had been dipped into human feces also. And the next step had a razor blade along with a note.” The note partially read, “Burning the American flag is symbolic free speech” and “show me your badge wannabe,” Maples reported.
“The needle really kind of outraged me. I’ve got three kids and that’s what really made me mad was the needle,” Maples said.
“It’s a little different I guess being considered a victim of a crime. You know, now I kind of see when people are upset when we respond to calls and things like that. I understand where their frustration comes from.”
He was not the only victim. “Jeffersonville Police said that [the man] also burned another flag and put it in a Jeffersonville Police officer’s mailbox,” Maples told reporters.
Jeffersonville police believe they know who the perpetrator is and they plan to issue an arrest warrant this week.
