Plymouth Police Cut Power to Flock Cameras After Contract Ends Unanswered
With the company silent on a cancellation the city had voted for, Plymouth switched off its plate-reading cameras itself, while nearby Dayton reports cameras reactivated without approval.
Plymouth, Minnesota, voted in September 2026 to end its contract with Flock Safety, but after more than a week without any formal reply from the company, Police Chief Eric Fadden had staff cut the power to the city's cameras so they could no longer record plates. A nearby city, Dayton, reported that Flock acknowledged its removal request but then reactivated two cameras without authorization even after the city had paused the program and told the company not to proceed. Reporting on the dispute notes that Flock has faced other controversies recently and that the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Why it matters
For residents of Plymouth and Dayton, the dispute means the license-plate cameras their police use are no longer under the city's control in practice. Plymouth's council voted to end the contract, but the cameras kept recording until staff physically cut their power, so the city's decision was only enforced by hand. Dayton's experience suggests the same gap: a city can pause a program and tell the vendor not to proceed, yet cameras can still be switched back on. The episode shows that a local government's stated decision to stop using the system depends on the vendor's cooperation.
Matters or hype?
Does this story matter, or is it hype? Vote before you see what everyone else said.