Plymouth Police Chief Physically Unplugs Flock Cameras After Contract Cancellation

A police chief in Minnesota took matters into his own hands by physically unplugging automated license plate reader cameras after the manufacturer ignored the city's demands to remove them. The Plymouth City Council voted unanimously to end its contract with Flock Safety, but the company failed to reply to formal cancellation notices sent by mail and email.

Chief Eric Fadden suspended all local user accounts and waited more than a week before directing staff to disconnect the power cords from the devices. A neighboring city, Dayton, also attempted to cancel its Flock contract and told the company not to proceed with planned camera replacements, but the firm went ahead with the work anyway.

These local disputes are part of a broader nationwide backlash against Flock’s camera network, which includes more than 300,000 devices. Unlike standard license plate readers, Flock’s system uses artificial intelligence to track vehicles by identifying make, model, paint color, and window stickers. Critics and privacy advocates have pushed city councils to remove the cameras over mounting surveillance concerns.

The technology has also faced scrutiny following high-profile operational errors. In one instance, a car reviewer driving a loaner Range Rover in New Jersey was surrounded by four police cars and detained for an hour because Flock's system misread a non-standard manufacturer plate. The camera system flagged the vehicle as stolen due to a compounded data entry error from a missing California tag report, leading police to track the car for days.

Beyond technical errors, investigators have uncovered widespread abuse of the surveillance network by law enforcement. Dozens of police officers across the United States have been fired or arrested for using the Flock system to stalk ex-romantic partners. A report by 404 Media stated that investigators have found at least 18 such cases in recent years, though investigators believe the true number of abuses is likely much higher because most cases only come to light through direct victim complaints.

Flock Security stated that with 140,000 monthly active users, system abuse is rare. The company has actively fought lawsuits and potential regulations that would require police to obtain a warrant before using the network.

Summary

The physical disconnection of surveillance cameras highlights growing friction between municipalities and tech vendors over public privacy. At the same time, documented software errors and police misconduct cases have intensified public scrutiny of automated mass surveillance systems.