A Plymouth resident who was wrongfully stopped after being tracked by Flock’s automated license-plate cameras says the incident helped push the city to cancel its contract with Flock three months later. The Plymouth City Council voted almost unanimously to end the relationship, with Mayor Jeff Wosje the sole dissenting voice who argued the technology is a needed public-safety tool despite the negative publicity. The decision followed intense local attention and national coverage of the mistaken ambush, and came amid a looming mayoral re-election contest in which the deputy mayor supported the cancellation.
Council deliberations included a two-hour study session and a three-hour meeting in which the police chief presented how Flock had been used to solve crimes and addressed the wrongful stop directly. The department also disclosed it had stopped sharing Flock data with about 36 neighboring agencies after concerns that some searches up north were used for immigration enforcement. Flock’s CEO publicly acknowledged company failures and announced rule changes after the incident, but the city still chose to sever ties. It remains unclear when cameras will be removed or whether another automatic license-plate reader vendor such as Axon or Leonardo will replace Flock.
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