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Flock Safety installed a replacement automatic license plate reader in Plymouth, Minnesota, where the City Council had voted to end its contract and police had unplugged the cameras. Flock said a maintenance order was inadvertently left active, the new camera is not collecting data, and removal orders have been expedited. The camera was plugged into a solar panel and battery pack when The Drive checked it, leaving its operating status unclear.
Flock Safety replaced an unplugged automatic license plate reader in Plymouth, Minnesota, on November 4, despite the City Council having voted to end its contract and police having disconnected the cameras. The company told The Drive that a maintenance order had been left active by mistake and that the replacement camera is not collecting data; the outlet reported that the device was plugged into its solar panel and battery pack when checked.
The Drive reported that a contractor was working on a Flock camera mounted along Rockford Road, west of Highway 494. The contractor said he had been hired by Flock and had a work order to replace the device, describing the old camera as “broken.” He did not show the reporter the work order or identify himself or his employer. The replacement appeared physically larger than the camera it replaced.
Plymouth Police Chief Eric Fadden had ordered the cameras unplugged after the city voted on September 22 to discontinue their use and end its contract with Flock. Fadden told The Drive that, after more than a week without a response, he directed staff to disconnect the power cords to make sure the cameras were not functioning or recording license plates. Asked about the replacement, he said he would send staff to investigate and emphasized that city officials had not known it was happening.
Flock said the cameras were unplugged before the contract cancellation could be formally processed, automatically triggering maintenance orders. The company said that after other work orders were removed, one order was “inadvertently missed.” Flock said the new camera was not collecting data and that removal orders had been expedited, with all cameras to be taken down “in the coming weeks.” The Drive’s account says its reporter later found the replacement plugged into an attached solar panel and battery pack.
Plymouth’s Cancellation Meets a Live Work Order
The episode puts a practical question behind Plymouth’s vote in focus: how quickly can a city’s decision to end a surveillance contract take effect when equipment and maintenance requests remain in the field? Flock’s explanation points to a process failure, while the city’s decision to unplug the cameras shows officials had already taken a physical step to stop their operation.
Automatic license plate readers capture vehicle plate information and can support investigations by allowing police to search records of vehicle sightings. That makes the status of equipment important to residents and local officials: a camera that remains installed, or is reconnected, raises questions about whether it is powered, recording, or transmitting data. In this case, Flock says the replacement is not collecting information, but the physical connection observed by The Drive leaves the device’s operational status open to verification.
The disagreement also has direct implications for contract oversight. Plymouth residents and officials need to know whether cameras have been removed as promised and whether any data was captured after the council’s vote or the police department’s disconnection order. The available report does not establish that the new camera recorded plates or that data from it was accessed.
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Council Vote and Police Disconnection
Plymouth’s City Council voted on September 22, 2026, to stop using Flock’s automatic license plate readers and end the city’s contract with the company. About a month later, according to The Drive, the cameras remained in place and Flock had not acknowledged the cancellation. Fadden said he then directed staff to unplug them.
The Drive also reported that Flock had reinstalled cameras in Dayton, Minnesota, after that city took its cameras down. That account provides a nearby precedent for disputes over equipment removal, though the source material does not detail the circumstances or operational status of the Dayton cameras. The Plymouth report also includes the reporter’s account of a personal encounter involving police who, he said, used Flock cameras to track him and his wife; that account is not independently established in the material provided here.
“The newly installed camera is not collecting data.”
— Flock Safety spokesperson, in a statement to The Drive
Camera Power and Data Status
It remains unclear whether the replacement camera recorded or transmitted any data. Flock said it was not collecting data, while The Drive reported that the device was plugged into its solar panel and battery pack when checked. A power connection alone does not establish that the camera was recording, transmitting, or otherwise operating, and the source material provides no independent technical inspection or data logs.
The report also does not say when Flock was formally notified that Plymouth’s contract had been canceled, what the maintenance order authorized, or whether the company has removed the replacement since its statement. The city’s review of the installation was pending at the time of the report. No evidence in the source material confirms that the camera captured license plates after the council vote or after police unplugged the original equipment.
City Review and Camera Removal
Fadden said Plymouth staff were going to the site to investigate the replacement. Flock said it had expedited all removal orders and expected to remove the cameras in the coming weeks. The next clear developments are whether city officials confirm the new device has been disabled or removed, and whether Flock completes removal across Plymouth.
The city and company have not provided, in the source material, a public inspection report, technical records showing the camera’s status, or a firm removal date. Those details would help establish whether the device collected any information and whether the missed work order was the only reason it was replaced after the city’s decision.
Key Questions
Why was a Flock camera replaced in Plymouth?
The contractor told The Drive that the original camera was “broken.” Flock later said a maintenance order was inadvertently left active after Plymouth’s contract cancellation process began.
Did the replacement camera collect license plate data?
Flock said the new camera was not collecting data. The Drive reported that it was plugged into its solar panel and battery pack, but the available information does not independently establish whether it recorded or transmitted data.
Had Plymouth decided to end its Flock contract?
Yes. The Plymouth City Council voted on September 22, 2026, to discontinue use of Flock’s automatic license plate readers and end the contract. Police Chief Eric Fadden said he later ordered staff to unplug the cameras.
When will the cameras be removed?
Flock said removal orders had been expedited and that all cameras would be removed in the coming weeks. The company did not give a specific date in the statement reported by The Drive.
Source: thedrive.com
