Climate activists deflate SUV tires in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM — Climate activists have been busy deflating the tires of multiple SUVs parked in Birmingham and leaving flyers behind.

“We did this because driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has huge consequences for others,” states, in part, a flyer from the group believed to be connected with the incidents, the Tyre Extinguishers. “(Driving a hybrid or electric? These are still polluting, dangerous and cause congestion. … ),” states the flyer.

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Grewe said the investigation has been taken over by the FBI, since the group looks to have been started overseas.

“It all took place that one weekend. We haven’t had any repeat incidents — not to say that it can’t happen again,” Grewe said. “There was no permanent damage done to these vehicles.”

Since there are no cameras in the parking structures, no video surveillance revealed footage of these incidents.

“We are keeping an eye out for them, and our offices are doing extra patrols in the structures just to check for that, but there’s no concern at this point,” Grewe said.

In one of the incidents, on July 7 at approximately 6 p.m., an officer was dispatched to a nearby business to take a report about a vehicle that had been tampered with.

A 48-year-old male resident stated that he had parked in a nearby parking structure, and that the tires of his truck were deflated.

The tire caps of the truck had been removed, and inside the cap, a small object was placed, causing the tire to deflate over time.

The man found a pamphlet on his windshield referring to an activist group that is deflating tires for environmental climate change. The Tyre Extinguishers group could not immediately be reached for comment.