Southern Minnesota Man Caught After Cutting Down A Flock Camera

A South Central Minnesota man was caught after he cut down and stole a Flock camera. The man allegedly cut down the camera last week. This comes as communities across the US are debating whether automatic license plate readers should be used.

Faribault Man Caught Taking Flock Camera

A Faribault man, Justin Campbell, has been accused by Rice County of taking a Flock camera in July and then bringing the camera to a witness and bragging about what he had taken.

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According to KMSP-TV, "on July 27, police responded to a call about a theft of a Flock camera. Police checked for the camera located near the intersection of Lyndale Ave South and Highland Place in Faribault and found it was gone."

On July 26th, Campbell was in a store talking about taking one, as they had been 'tracking him' while he drove around Faribault.

Bragging About Camera Theft Got Him Arrested

Campbell went back to the store where he had been discussing taking a Flock camera, about 12 hours after the theft, with the stolen camera. At the time, he showed the store employee the camera inside a backpack and told the employee he was going to take it apart.

Law enforcement in Faribault got a warrant to search Campbell's residence and found the camera. Campbell told law enforcement at the time he had found it in the road and wasn't going to keep it.

Controversy Over Flock Cameras

Flock cameras, which are a brand of camera that automatically reads license plates, are often used by law enforcement across the US to aid them in locating stolen vehicles, criminal investigations, and locating missing people.

Many communities in the US are struggling with the cameras, as residents are now blocking the cameras with garbage bags, holding signs in front of them, or simply cutting them down.

You can see where Flock cameras are installed in the St. Cloud area, here. 

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