Faribault man charged with stealing Flock camera he claimed tracked him in city
Flock cameras and the privacy debate
A recent case involving Flock license plate cameras incorrectly tracking a Minnesota journalist has renewed questions about the technology's accuracy and oversight. ACLU Senior Policy Analyst Jay Stanley joins us to discuss how Flock cameras work, concerns about privacy, and the broader debate over automated license plate readers.
FARIBAULT, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Faribault, Minnesota man is facing three charges after allegedly stealing a Flock camera, bragging about it and saying it had been tracking him coming in and out of the city.
What we know:
The Rice County Attorney’s Office charged Justin Lee Campbell, 41, with one count of interfering with emergency communications, one count of theft of movable property and one count of fourth-degree property damage.
According to the criminal complaint, 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.
The cables that had been attached to the camera were cut, and police learned the camera went offline on Jul 27 at 1:43 a.m., the charges say.
The backstory:
On July 26 around midnight, Campbell had allegedly come into a store and talked about wanting to take a Flock camera, one of the store employees told investigators. A few days prior, Campbell came into the store and talked about the Flock cameras and how they tracked him coming to and leaving Faribault, the charges say.
On July 27 around 1:30 p.m., Campbell brought the camera into the same shop and bragged about taking a Flock camera, saying he was going to come back later to take it apart. The employee told Campell they wanted nothing to do with it. Later that day, employees found Campbell in the store looking for tools and trying to tear apart the camera. There was video surveillance of Cambell entering and walking around the store, according to the charges. One of the employees said they saw tape on the lens of the camera.
One of the store employees told investigators that a few days prior, Campbell had come into the store and talked about Flock cameras and said he thought they tracked him coming to and leaving Faribault.
Investigators were granted a warrant to search Campbell’s property. Campbell told investigators he had found the camera in the road the other night, and claimed he did not know what it was and was not going to keep it. They asked Campbell to show them the camera, which had tape over the lens with the same serial number as the missing Flock camera. Officers also found a backpack in the garage that matched one seen on surveillance footage in the store.
Dig deeper:
According to the charges, Flock is a company contracted by the City of Faribault for automated license plate readers that are used by the Faribault Police Department for criminal investigations, to locate missing people. Alert officers to Amber Alerts, KOPS Alerts, to send notifications directly to officers, and to dispatch. In some communities in Minnesota, people are pushing back against the use of Flock cameras due to privacy concerns.
The estimated replacement value of the camera is $800. The estimated value to replace the damaged wire is $50, according to the charges.
The Source: Information in this story comes from a Rice County criminal complaint filed on July 29, 2026.