Somerville leaders consider abandoning gunfire-detecting technology NBC Boston [Video]

City councilors in Somerville, Massachusetts, are considering getting rid of technology used to capture the sound of gunfire in communities and alert police.

Somerville City Councilor At Large Willie Burnley Jr. introduced an order to discuss the effectiveness and placement of the ShotSpotter software, recently re-branded to Sound Thinking.

“For me, it’s quite concerning when we have people of color who are more likely to be over-policed put in a situation where there’s a technology that could alert the police to go there when it shouldn’t,” he said on Thursday.

He added that he has civil right concerns with roughly 35 sensors placed in Somerville, primarily in communities of color.

“As far as Somerville goes, it seems to be exclusively in those communities,” Burnley said.

He also pointed to an incident in Chicago, where police responded to a ShotSpotter alert and shot at a teen who was in his backyard playing with fireworks.

“When it comes to situations in which we …