A fatal shooting early in the morning on July 4 has added heat to a smoldering debate over whether Cambridge should have kept a gunshot detection surveillance system in place. That system, ShotSpotter, had been in use by the city since 2014 until it was discontinued after a City Council vote May 18.
ShotSpotter’s acoustic detection system monitors for gunfire-like sounds and reports them to law enforcement, which can allow for a more rapid response in situations where 911 is not called. That’s what happened Saturday. Xavier Bautista, a 32-year-old employee of Cambridge’s Department of Public Works, was found dead near Broadway and Norfolk St. at about 5:30 a.m. July 4. But the District Attorney’s preliminary investigation suggested that Bautista was shot around 4:30 a.m., about an hour before a pedestrian called 911. Prior to that, no 911 call was made, exactly the scenario under which ShotSpotter is supposed to help increase response time.
Two Cambridge police unions issued a statement saying the removal of ShotSpotter at the behest of City Council played a role in Bautista’s death.
“If ShotSpotter detection was received at the time of this incident, Cambridge emergency personnel would have had the opportunity to discover the scene much sooner than 60 minutes after the incident, and render emergency aid to the victim,” the Cambridge Police Patrol Officers Association and Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association said in a joint statement. Police were against the change and have previously complained about it.
While the unions said Bautista’s death was “directly related to the City Council’s mandate,” it cannot be known at this time whether a quicker response would have made a difference. “It is premature to speculate and just plain wrong to assume it could have made a difference,” said city councillor Patricia Nolan. “We should wait for a full investigation before assuming whether that or another technology could have prevented this death.”
Nolan voted to remove ShotSpotter, but had said at the time she would be in favor of a technology that could reduce civil liberties issues such as the potential for eavesdropping without a warrant. She also supports more widespread use of security cameras.
ShotSpotter had been in place for over 12 years in Cambridge. But the system was recommended for removal in this year’s annual surveillance report done by Digital Fourth, a Cambridge-based civil liberties group focused on surveillance issues. After contentious public comment and council debate at a May 11 City Council meeting caused a vote on the technology to be tabled, the City Council voted on May 18 to end use of the recording technology within 90 days. The vote was 5-2-2, with council members Ayah Al-Zubi, Marc McGovern, Nolan, Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler and Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui in favor, E. Denise Simmons and Timothy Flaherty against, and Cathie Zusy and Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem voting “present.” This is the first shooting-related death in Cambridge since that vote.
“It is plausible that an active ShotSpotter system could have resulted in first responders arriving on-scene to render aid to the victim more quickly, particularly in this case when the shooting was not reported via 9-1-1,” said Cambridge Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Robert Reardon. Reardon confirmed that ShotSpotter would have been in place in the area of the shooting.
Flaherty, who has tried to have the policy order removing ShotSpotter repealed, said in an interview he thought the City Council would now need to revisit the order. “Circumstances have changed, and I think that the circumstances dictate that the city council responds appropriately,” Flaherty said.
The City of Cambridge announced it will hold an in-person only community meeting Wednesday July 8 from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Cambridge Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Avenue.
There will be food and light refreshments available from 6 p.m.
The CPD asked that anyone with information about the incident call it at (617) 349-3300. Tips can be shared anonymously via phone, text or email, follow instructions at the Submit an Anonymous Crime Tip page on its site. Or people may contact Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office at (781) 897-6600.
This story was updated to include information about a community meeting.
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