It depends on state law in the state the incident occurs in, but generally, legally, the employer can be held liable if they fail to take reasonable measures to address specific complaints made regarding the fostering of a hostile working environment. A single incident, which does not include direct physical contact or a legally-clear threat of violence does not necessarily a hostile working environment make (and if it isn't the employer that provides the parking lot, the connection is even more remote). Also, the employer is obligated to be fair, and make folks aware of what is being perceived as a creating a hostile working environment, and to give potential transgressors an opportunity to adjust their behavior.
However, based on the one-sided description of the incident (the male employee hasn't told his side of the story, here in the thread), all we can say with any assurance is that there was vandalism. Arguably, the fact that the tire held air overnight was a legitimate basis on which to claim that there was vandalism. And the video proved that there was vandalism. Committing vandalism on company property is basis to take action against an employee, but that's between the vandal and the employer. In the civil arena, since there was no substantial damages from the vandalism, it is unlikely that the authorities will do anything other than take the complaint, but it is worth a shot contacting the police to complain.
