After Plymouth City Council voted to end its contract, police chief Eric Fadden disconnected the Flock cameras himself. Tom’s Hardware describes how the chief unplugs Flock cameras after the cancellation went unanswered for more than a week, citing The Drive.
The decision turned a contract dispute into a practical question: what happens when a city says a surveillance system should stop operating, but equipment remains installed? In Plymouth, Fadden said staff pulled the cameras’ power cords to make sure they were not functioning or recording license plates. The city had already suspended its user accounts.
Tom’s Hardware reported that the Plymouth City Council unanimously voted to discontinue use of Flock automated license plate readers at its Sept. 22 meeting. On the morning of Sept. 23, the city suspended all Plymouth user accounts and notified Flock Safety. Fadden said the city also sent a formal cancellation letter by mail and email after consulting the City Attorney’s Office.
“We did not hear any reply from Flock Safety Corporate or Legal, other than some communication with our local representative,” Fadden told The Drive. He said he directed staff to disconnect the power cords after more than a week without a response. His stated purpose was to ensure the devices were not functioning or recording plates.
Unplugs Flock Cameras After Cancellation
The reported sequence matters because the city took steps to end the program before physically disconnecting equipment. The council voted to discontinue use, city accounts were suspended, and the city notified the company. Fadden said staff then disconnected the cameras after the city did not receive a reply from Flock’s corporate or legal offices.
Plymouth was not the only Minnesota city cited in the report. Dayton, located 10 miles north of Plymouth, had paused its Flock program and disabled two devices in the area. Dayton police learned the company intended to replace the cameras and told Flock not to proceed with the work order. The report says Flock moved ahead with the replacement despite that instruction.
Disputes Put Camera Oversight in Focus
Tom’s Hardware placed the Plymouth decision amid other controversies involving the company’s camera system. It cited arrests of officers accused of misusing the system and a mistaken “ambush” of a car reviewer by Plymouth City Police in Minnesota, which the report attributed to an administrative error made in California. It also described reports that police pulled motorists over after an AI algorithm labeled their travel history “suspicious.”
The article says Flock’s cameras are marketed as automated license plate readers, but its system can also identify vehicles through markings such as stickers, paint color, make and model. It reported that more than 300,000 Flock cameras were installed nationwide. The source says the network’s broad coverage makes it effective at tracking vehicles, while privacy concerns have led critics to ask city councils to remove cameras.
Those concerns connect to broader debates about how cities govern technology and public information. Transit Tomorrow has examined privacy and security in smart cities, including questions about data handling and safeguards. Its coverage of a local traffic camera agreement shows another way municipalities make decisions about camera systems. The topics differ, but both involve public authorities deciding how camera technology is used.
Transit Tomorrow’s coverage of travel technology investment examines another part of the mobility technology sector, focused on funding rather than surveillance.
The report says Flock had not responded to Plymouth’s removal demands at the time described. Disconnecting the power cords made the cameras nonfunctional, according to Fadden’s explanation, but the source does not say when the devices would be physically removed. The next reported step will depend on whether the city and company resolve the equipment’s status.
Read Tom’s Hardware’s report on Plymouth’s camera disconnection for the source account and Fadden’s comments.
