CHICAGO (CBS/AP) — Community groups are arguing in a new court filing that the gunshot detection system that set in motion the recent fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago routinely reports gunshots where there are none.
They say that sends officers into predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods for “unnecessary and hostile” encounters.
The groups and the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University’s law school are asking a Cook County judge in a Monday filing to scrutinize the ShotSpotter system to determine if it is “sufficiently trustworthy” to be allowed as evidence in a criminal case.
ShotSpotter and police officials defend the system, which they say allows officers to quickly respond to gunfire, even if no one calls 911.
BREAKING: In Chicago, a surveillance program called ShotSpotter has generated over 40,000 dead-end police deployments in the last 21 months.
All dispatched to predominately Black & Latinx communities — the only places where ShotSpotter is used. https://t.co/5uBcPJ015M
— MacArthur Justice Center (@MacArthrJustice) May 3, 2021
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.