The City of Chicago has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by Michael Williams, who was wrongfully arrested and jailed for 11 months based on faulty data from a ShotSpotter gunshot detection system.
Williams, 29, was charged with first-degree murder in 2023 after ShotSpotter indicated gunfire originating from his location. However, forensic audio analysis commissioned by the public defender's office later determined the system had misidentified a backfire from a nearby construction site as a gunshot. Williams was released in 2024, and all charges were dropped.
The settlement, approved by the Chicago City Council's Finance Committee on a 15-2 vote, includes $3.5 million for Williams and $1 million for legal fees. The city admitted no liability but acknowledged 'errors in the evidentiary process.'
ShotSpotter scrutiny intensifies
The case has intensified scrutiny of ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology used by more than 100 U.S. cities. Multiple studies have found high rates of false positives, and the Chicago Inspector General's office issued a report in 2025 concluding that 'ShotSpotter alerts rarely lead to evidence of a gun-related crime.'
Mayor Brandon Johnson, who campaigned on ending the city's contract with ShotSpotter, announced that Chicago will not renew its agreement when it expires in August 2026. 'We cannot continue to rely on technology that sends innocent people to jail,' Johnson said.
We cannot continue to rely on technology that sends innocent people to jail. This settlement is a necessary step but also a warning.
Williams, now working as a community organizer, told reporters: 'Eleven months I'll never get back. But if this settlement helps prevent the same thing from happening to someone else, then maybe it was worth something.'
