Police chief unplugs Flock cameras after company ignores contract cancellation

Plymouth, Minnesota, voted unanimously on September 22, 2026, to end its contract for Flock Safety’s automated license-plate reader cameras. The city suspended local user accounts the next day and notified the company, then sent formal cancellation notices by mail and email. After more than a week without a response from Flock’s corporate or legal teams, Police Chief Eric Fadden directed staff to unplug the cameras so they could not operate or record license plates. The episode shows a city having to disable equipment itself after its supplier failed to act on a contract cancellation.

The decision comes amid growing scrutiny of Flock’s surveillance network, which includes more than 300,000 cameras nationwide. The systems can identify vehicles not only by license plates but also by features such as make, model, color, and stickers. Critics cite privacy risks and misuse: reported cases include officers arrested for abusing the system, a mistaken police response tied to an administrative error, and traffic stops prompted by an AI assessment that a driver’s travel history was suspicious. Nearby Dayton also paused its program and disabled two cameras, after Flock proceeded with replacements despite being told not to. These disputes raise concerns about who controls the cameras and data, and whether cities can effectively end surveillance programs when the company does not cooperate.