Calera police harass naked man accused of property damage in Camden Cove

SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. (WBMA) — An unusual call in Calera led police to track down a naked man early Friday morning.

According to a statement from the Calera Police Department, officers were called to the Camden Cove area around 2:30 a.m. Friday for a report of a naked man damaging cars and homes. Police were able to locate the suspect, who was described as a “very large male.” He was truly naked and covered in blood. Calera Police Chief David Hyche said the man advanced toward one of the officers and ignored commands. Officers eventually used a stun gun and arrested him.

“I was watching the video from the dash cam and body cam this morning, the officer used incredible restraint and I believe that would have been justified if an officer had not chosen to go for the taser. He chose to use the taser but on an individual basis. Hyche said, “Approaching that quickly sometimes stops them , sometimes it doesn’t stop,” he said. “Is this man a big man, a small man, the size of a civil servant? Look, this is a civil servant with a family who wanted to go home that night. The attacker approached him in a mansion and chose to use the stun gun. “If he had made another choice, I would still be here today supporting him.”

Hyche said the man admitted to using drugs. He was taken to hospital for treatment. Hyche added that the man was known to law enforcement due to previous drug-related charges.

“I hope for his sake and his family’s sake that he can get help,” Hyche said.

According to Calera Police Chief David Hyche, more than 30 people reported damage to their vehicles and/or property.

“I want to thank all the citizens for calling and giving us the information that allowed us to end this within 10 minutes of the initial call,” Hyche said. he said.

No one else was injured.

Those who live in Camden Cove describe the neighborhood as quiet.

“It’s always been quiet around here and everyone’s nice to everyone,” Joe Matthews said.

Sam Oddo described the moment he was woken up by a neighbor alerting him to what was happening.

“We were woken up by our neighbor knocking on the door at 2:30 a.m. saying a naked man was breaking into cars. It was a random event, so were we,” Oddo said.

Oddo said he went out and saw the damage.

“I think he just pierced it, didn’t take anything out,” he said. “We had parked another car next to yours and its windshield had been blown out, then we saw his car had been thrown out too. We were in shock.”

“There was blood there, there was blood right here; blood must be dripping down the street,” Oddo added.

In addition to many vehicles damaged, mailboxes and other items were also damaged.

“Apparently it hit this side of my mailbox and the other side of his; it was random,” Matthews said.

When asked if the man was using anything to cause damage, Hyche said: “We were told he had brick pavers, citizens who reported this said he was carrying two brick pavers and clearly he was using them.”

Citizens living in Camden Cove were shocked by the incident.

“I’m shocked, this is really abnormal,” said Brent Franklin, who was cleaning blood from the mailbox. “This isn’t something you want your kids or family to deal with, nor do we normally. It’s a really quiet neighborhood.”

Hyche confirmed the man lived in the neighborhood.

The man in police custody is Caleb Jon Sims, 35, according to Shelby County Sheriff’s Office jail records.

Hyche said charges are still being determined.

Due to the amount of damage, Sims may face felony charges.