A 65-year-old Chicago resident Michael Williams has sued the city after being released from jail, alleging that a highly controversial AI program called ShotSpotter is the real culprit behind his evidence-free arrest, according to AP.
The federal lawsuit, filed on Thursday, claims that Chicago police utilized “unreliable” gunshot detection technology and refused to investigate other leads in the case of a grandpa from the city’s South Side accused of killing a neighbor.
Prosecutors in Chicago used audio captured by a network of sensors established by ShotSpotter as key evidence in prosecuting Michael Williams with murder in 2020 for allegedly shooting the guy inside his car.
Williams was imprisoned for over a year before a judge dismissed his case at the prosecutors’ request, who claimed there was insufficient evidence.
The MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University’s law school filed the action, which seeks damages from the city for mental anguish, loss of income, and legal fees for the 65-year-old Williams, who claims he still suffers from a tremor in his hand that developed while he was locked up.
“Even though now I’m so-called free, I don’t think I will ever be free of the thought of what they have done and the impact that has on me now, like the shaking with my hand,” Williams said. “I constantly go back to the thought of being in that place. … I just can’t get my mind to settle down.”
Despite the lawsuit’s assertions that ShotSpotter’s algorithm-based technology is defective, the firm is not mentioned as a defendant in the complaint. However, the case also asserts that the city engaged in racial discrimination by deciding to locate the majority of its gunshot-detection sensors in areas with high populations of Black and Latino residents.
If the case favors Williams, Chicago might be required to stop using ShotSpotter. Moreover, in light of the city’s covert renewal of its $33 million contract with the tech corporation last year, Williams’ victory in the case could mark a turning point for using AI in policing.
