Responding to ShotSpotter, Police Shoot at Child Lighting Fireworks
www.eff.org
This post was written by Rachel Hochhauser, an EFF legal internWe’ve written multiple times about the inaccurate and dangerous “gunshot detection” tool, Shotspotter. A recent near-tragedy in Chicago adds to the growing pile of evidence that cities should drop the product.On January 25, while...

Three officers approached the boy’s house, with one asking “What you doing bro, you good?” They heard a loud bang, later determined to be fireworks, and shot at the child. Fortunately, no physical injuries were recorded. In initial reports, police falsely claimed that they fired at a “man” who had fired on officers.

In a subsequent assessment of the event, the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability (“COPA”) concluded that “a firearm was not used against the officers.” Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling placed all attending officers on administrative duty for 30 days and is investigating whether the officers violated department policies.

ShotSpotter is the largest company which produces and distributes audio gunshot detection for U.S. cities and police departments. Currently, it is used by 100 law enforcement agencies.

Experts have long been warning of these tools’ the inaccuracy.

  • spujb@lemmy.cafeEnglish
    12·
    3 months ago

    for anyone wanting defend this kind of technology, i get you on principle but remember you don’t even need to scroll past the first two sentences of the Wikipedia article to identify how bad this specific implementation is:

    SoundThinking, Inc. (formerly ShotSpotter Inc.) is a publicly traded, Fremont, California-based company known for its controversial gunfire locator service.[2][3] ShotSpotter claims it can identify whether or not a gunshot was fired in an area in order to dispatch law enforcement, though researchers have noted concerns about effectiveness, reliability, privacy, and equity.

    Highly recommend reading the full article; it reads like dark satire how bad this million dollar “technology” is