A Chicago ShotSpotter Alert Led To An Officer Firing At An Unarmed Child

Last month, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced that the city will stop using ShotSpotter, the controversial gunshot detection technology meant to alert police immediately to the exact location of gunfire. Johnson said the system was too expensive, ineffective and potentially prejudicial.

On Tuesday, the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) released body-camera footage of Chicago police officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert that indicated gunshots had been fired — but they then nearly shot a child who’d been playing with fireworks.

An officer’s bodycam footage dated Jan. 25 shows police arriving at the scene with flashlights to search the area. Then a loud bang can be heard. The footage shows officers immediately running toward the noise, and one officer fires his gun.

“Shots fired. Shots fired,” one officer says.

With their flashlights on, officers shout for a person nearby to come out with their hands up. Officers repeat their commands with their guns drawn.

In another video angle from a Ring camera recording, a child at the home was outside playing basketball. The child drops what appears to be firecrackers on the ground and then runs away with a basketball in his hand.

The child runs back, yelling toward the officers that there were not any gunshots.

“No, it’s just fireworks,” the child is heard saying on camera.

Police initially said an adult had fired shots and fled the area. But that turned out not to be the case.

“COPA can confirm that a firearm was not used against the officers,” said COPA First Deputy Chief Administrator Ephraim Eaddy.

“When officers arrived in the area, they observed an individual, who has now been identified as a juvenile, standing near a residence. As one