In the rapidly expanding genre of "Things That Are Harder Than They Should Be," Flock Safety has emerged as a standout. The company, which makes license plate-reading cameras, is finding itself in the awkward position of being asked to leave by multiple cities - and then, apparently, not leaving. The latest saga comes from Plymouth, Minnesota, where the city council voted to terminate its contract with Flock in September. The company, however, failed to respond to the city's request. For over a month, the cameras remained up, and the city received no acknowledgment from Flock. So Police Chief Eric Fadden took matters into his own hands 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. It's a novel approach to customer service: if the vendor won't cancel, just unplug it.

Roughly 20 miles up the road, Dayton, Minnesota, 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: "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." So much for the customer always being right.

Flock spokesperson Andrew Smith told The Verge, "We are proud of the impact our technology has had in Plymouth. We respect the city's decision and are working with the customer to have the cameras removed." The statement is a masterpiece of corporate diplomacy: proud of the impact, respectful of the decision, and yet somehow still physically present. It's the corporate equivalent of saying "I hear you" while continuing to talk.

This follows a similar ordeal 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. The pattern is clear: Flock seems to treat contract termination like a polite suggestion rather than a binding legal agreement. As more cities attempt to cancel their contracts, they're discovering that breaking up with Flock is hard to do - not because of emotional attachment, but because the company apparently treats "remove the cameras" as a request for a future meeting.

Update November 1st: Added comment from Flock.