Cities are canceling contracts with Flock Safety, but the company has been ignoring removal requests and at times reinstalling cameras without authorization. The report highlights disputes in Plymouth and Dayton, Minnesota, as well as a similar case at Elgin Community College in Illinois.
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While more cities are canceling their contracts with Flock Safety, just as many are discovering how difficult that can be in some instances. Plymouth, Minnesota's city council voted to terminate its contract with Flock in September, but failed to respond to the city's request. For over a month, the cameras remained up, and the city had received no acknowledgment from the company. So, Police Chief Eric Fadden <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/news/my-city-canceled-flocks-contract-flock-ignored-it-so-the-police-chief-unplugged-the-cameras">took matters into his own hands</a> and physically disconnected the cameras.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">"After hearing nothing for more than a week, I directed our staff to disconnect the power cords from the cameras in order to be sure that they are not functioning …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1024232/flock-ignoring-cancel-contracts">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Flock keeps ignoring requests to cancel its contracts
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/1024232/flock-ignoring-cancel-contracts](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1024232/flock-ignoring-cancel-contracts)
Cities are canceling Flock contracts, but the company won’t take them down and sometimes is reinstalling them\.
Cities are canceling Flock contracts, but the company won’t take them down and sometimes is reinstalling them\.
by
Nov 1, 2026, 7:58 PM UTC
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
[](https://www.theverge.com/authors/terrence-obrien)
Terrence O'Brien
is the Verge’s weekend editor\. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths\.
While more cities are canceling their contracts with Flock Safety, just as many are discovering how difficult that can be in some instances\. Plymouth, Minnesota’s city council voted to terminate its contract with Flock in September, but failed to respond to the city’s request\. For over a month, the cameras remained up, and the city had received no acknowledgment from the company\. So, Police Chief Eric Fadden[took matters into his own hands](https://www.thedrive.com/news/my-city-canceled-flocks-contract-flock-ignored-it-so-the-police-chief-unplugged-the-cameras)and physically disconnected the cameras\.
“After hearing nothing for more than a week, I directed our staff to disconnect the power cords from the cameras in order to be sure that they are not functioning or recording plates,” Fadden told*[The Drive](https://www.thedrive.com/news/my-city-canceled-flocks-contract-flock-ignored-it-so-the-police-chief-unplugged-the-cameras)*\.
Roughly 20 miles up the road,[Dayton, Minnesota](https://www.thedrive.com/news/flock-reinstalled-its-cameras-after-another-city-canceled-its-contract), is having its own issues with Flock\. In this instance, the company acknowledged the city’s request and said it would take up to 60 days to remove the equipment\. Despite this, Flock reconnected two cameras within the city limits without authorization, and following a specific request from the local police not to complete the work order\.
Dayton’s local government[posted on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/CityofDaytonMNOfficial/posts/city-staff-were-recently-made-aware-that-a-flock-camera-was-reinstalled-within-t/1425347723035006/):
> On September 17, 2026, the Police Department was made aware of a maintenance work order produced by Flock\. The City notified Flock on September 18, 2026, that the program was on hold, and no work orders were to be completed\. Unfortunately, the City’s direction was not followed, and the camera was placed back into service without authorization\.
This follows a[similar ordeal](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1009411/elgin-community-college-flock-safety-cameras)in Illinois, where the company refused to take down cameras and uncovered cameras at Elgin Community College after the administration sought to cancel its contract\.
Flock did not immediately respond to a request for comment\.
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- Terrence O'Brien
## The Verge Daily
A free daily digest of the news that matters most\.
Elgin Community College in Illinois tried to cancel its Flock Safety camera contract over data-sharing and security concerns, but Flock refused to remove the cameras — workers even repeatedly removed trash bags the college used to cover them until the contract finally expired.
Cities are terminating contracts with Flock Safety at a record pace in August due to privacy concerns and incidents of misuse involving AI surveillance cameras, leading to bipartisan political scrutiny.
Plymouth's police chief physically unplugged Flock surveillance cameras after the company ignored the city council's contract cancellation, amid ongoing privacy controversies over its license-plate reader network.
Cities across the US are canceling contracts with Flock Safety's AI-enabled license plate readers due to privacy concerns, but uncertainties remain about data retention and usage after termination.
ACLU documents how Flock Safety repeatedly misled city councils, police, and the public about its automatic license plate reader technology, including denying that its system creates vehicle heat maps, leading to a record short-lived contract cancellation in Oshkosh.