Councilmember Rips His Own City For Axing Gunshot Detection System After Massive Delay In Shooting Response

A Chicago city aldermen ripped criticized Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson for letting gunshot-detecting technology ShotSpotter’s contract expire after it was revealed a shooting took nearly nine hours to net a police response, according to NBC 5 Chicago on Monday.

Alderman David Moore of the 17th ward railed against Johnson’s decision on Monday, saying that the ShotSpotter would’ve enhanced the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) response time to a murder of Sierra Evans, who was likely killed between 11:45 p.m. CDT and 12:15 a.m. CDT on Saturday night or Sunday morning, but the body wasn’t discovered until 9:30 a.m. CDT on Sunday, according to NBC 5 Chicago. Johnson let the ShotSpotter contract expire on Sept. 23, saying he would look for alternatives to the system, according to ABC 7.

“Instead of a resident finding her body hours later, the sound of gunfire would have alerted CPD to multiple shots at 12:06 a.m. and it would have done so in less than 30 seconds from the shots being detected,” Moore told NBC 5 Chicago. “While the politics of this city is trying to minimize this tragedy, I’m not going to remain silent. This is about saving lives. For a woman to be found 9 ½ hours after a ShotSpotter alert could have been sent is heartbreaking.”

Moore said Alderman Peter Chico contacted ShotSpotter and confirmed that the company received a report of the shooting, according to NBC 5 Chicago. However, the CPD cannot use the devices any longer due to the contract expiring, and removal of the devices are currently underway, according to ABC 7.

Mark Abrams, Evan’s uncle, said if ShotSpotter were still used by the CPD that Evan’s life might have been saved, according to NBC 5 Chicago. Evan’s friends held a vigil Monday night in her memory.