Atwood Village President Farrar investigated for alleged Eavesdropping –

ATWOOD, IL. (ECWd) –

Atwood Village President Farrar

Sometime in the past couple of months, the Atwood Village President had security cameras installed inside and outside the Atwood Police Department.

At least one of the cameras recorded audio.

Apparently, nobody was informed of the audio recording, and Atwood President Brodie Farrar has allegedly been viewing the cameras and video clips, complete with audio, from a remote location (home or cell phone).

There are allegations that the President deleted some of the videos, and refused to give the Police Chief access to the recordings.

There was a police report filed with the Atwood Police Department alleging unauthorized eavesdropping and other complaints.

According to the police report (click here):

• There were at least 6 listed victims, including police officers and sheriff’s deputies
• A witness claims President Farrar eavesdropped on conversations in the police department thru the use of security camera audio
• Farrar installed the cameras and door locking system
• Officers were concerned with police matters being heard thru the cameras
• Farrar denied logging in and watching the videos, but a witness stated Farrar logged in at least 45 times within a couple of weeks
• Farrar denied the cameras recorded audio, then later admitted to it when an officer heard police conversations in the background while on the phone with Farrar
• Farrar said he was the village president and would watch any videos he wanted
• Farrar later claims his home and the police dept camera systems are linked together
• Atwood PD spoke with the Illinois State Police, Zone 5, and was advised to remove the camera systems that had audio recording capabilities
• Investigator noted that he was advised of possible drug activity at a specific residence, but after observing it for a couple of days, nothing strange was noted. He said he did not know if the original notification was overheard from the camera system
• A copy of the report was forwarded to ISP Zone 5
• Three videos were deleted from the system, and they were the ones that Farrar admitted that he listened to

The police report indicates it was forwarded to the State’s Attorney for his determination on whether to charge Farrar with one or all of the three complaints, or none of them:

• Eavesdropping
• Official Misconduct
• Obstructing Justice

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