Dayton city leaders say Flock installed two cameras without permission

Leaders in Dayton, Minnesota, say Flock recently installed two cameras in the city without their permission.

City officials say they were made aware of a maintenance work order by Flock on Sept. 17, but the next day city officials notified the company it was putting its surveillance camera program on hold.

"Unfortunately, the City's direction was not followed, and the camera was placed back into service without authorization," city officials said.

The city says it reviewed other areas in the community and found one other Flock camera. Both have since been removed.

Several Minnesota cities — including Columbia Heights, Crystal, Duluth, Plymouth, St. Paul and Winona — have also canceled or are considering cancelling contracts with Flock due to community concerns over privacy. Several communities have also reported thefts and vandalism of its cameras.

There have also been reports of motorists being pulled over by police after Flock erroneously flagged license plates as belonging to stolen vehicles, including a situation in June in Plymouth when journalist Joel Feder was pulled over by police while taking a Range Rover out for a test drive.

"What laws are in place? What guardrails are in place? How did this happen?" Feder told WCCO.   

Flock says it operates in 49 states and partners with over 5,000 law enforcement agencies. In an interview earlier this year with The Drive, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said "over a million cases were solved" with his company's technology in 2025 alone — a claim CBS News has found isn't supported by available evidence.