Overview
- The City Council approved the renewal in a tight 5-4 vote, extending the ShotSpotter subscription until March 2027.
- The nine-month extension will cost about $2.1 million and brings total spending on the program since 2022 to just over $9 million.
- Detroit police urged renewal during public comment and cited cases where the system, not a 911 call, led officers to a fatal shooting and to a 7-year-old who was critically injured.
- A resident, Aaron Pruitt, says officers questioned him after a ShotSpotter alert; police later apologized and are investigating the encounter.
- Opponents at the council meeting argued the system raises profiling and surveillance concerns and diverts funds from other needs, and the city will revisit the program when the short renewal ends in March 2027.