COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Colonie man arrested after allegedly following women at Target, and filming or photographing at least one of them, has been suspended from his position as Lieutenant with the Midway Fire Department until further notice. According to Chief Eric Obermayer, 25-year-old Kevin Hart cannot set foot on fire department grounds at this time.
A member of the Colonie Town Supervisor’s office told NEWS10 that the Midway Fire Department is a volunteer organization and the firefighters are not employees of the town.
Police say after a witness reported that Hart was acting strangely and following multiple women throughout the store, an investigation found that he had taken an upskirt photo or video in the presence of a child who may have seen what happened.
According to police, after Hart was identified and found, search warrants were executed at his home his electronics were seized to recover evidence and see if there are more victims. At this time, police say there is only one known unlawful surveillance victim.
Derrick Hogan, a Managing Partner at Tully Rinckey law firm, explained that while it’s not always illegal to record someone in public, it becomes an issue when intimate body parts are involved.
“A person has an expectation of privacy, for their private parts not to be recorded or viewed,” Hogan said.
Colonie Police are asking anyone with information to come forward, including potential other victims. Hogan explained even if those victims choose to remain anonymous, it can still help the investigation.
“If they’re saying, ‘well I was shopping at this store, on this date, around this time, it’s potential that law enforcement can look at surveillance around then. But ultimately, if you want to go forward with a complaint with the police, and potentially additional charges for the individual, they would have to be a named complainant at some point,” he said.
Hart was arraigned in the Town of Colonie Justice Court. He was released on his own recognizance.
This is still an active and ongoing investigation. If you have additional information, you can contact the Colonie Police at (518) 783-2754. If you wish to report a tip anonymously, you can call Capital Region Crimestoppers at 1-833-ALB-TIPS, or go to the Crimestoppers website.
