Paramedic in Bartow County charged after hidden camera found in bathroom
James Crawford (Bartow County Sheriff's Office)
BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. - A paramedic working in Bartow County is facing dozens of charges after officials say he hid a video camera in the restroom of one of his employer's offices.
Authorities say they arrested 50-year-old Woodstock resident James Burton Crawford in April.
What we know:
A document from the Adairsville Police Department obtained by FOX 5 showed that the investigation into the situation began on Oct. 9, 2023.
On that day, police were called to a satellite office for Metro Atlanta Ambulance Service on Legacy Way in Adairsville by an employee.
The man told police that a part-time paramedic was using the restroom when he noticed a clock sitting on a shelf in the room. When he picked up the clock, officials say the man noticed an SD card slot and then a camera.
The paramedic took the camera to the head of the company's IT department. A search of the images on the SD card reportedly revealed Crawford moving the camera from the shelf onto a nearby toilet paper holder and then back to where it originally was.
After finding the images, the camera was placed in a secure area until it was turned over to law enforcement.
Dig deeper:
Employees say Crawford's first day at the station was May 1, 2023. The first images on the SD card were from just slightly more than a month later - June 3, 2023.
The police document names 14 victims in the case - both men and women.
What's next:
Investigators charged Crawford with 40 counts of unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance.
He has since bonded out of the Bartow County Jail, WBHF reports.
The Source: Information for this story was taken from a police report by the Adairsville Police Department and an article by WBHF. The article has been modified since it was originally published to make it clear that the paramedic was working in Bartow County.