ShotSpotter fires back at Mass. pols over ‘misleading’ claims | John L. Micek

Good Sunday Morning, everyone.

Celtics fans are going to have to wait a little longer to find out whether Boston’s NBA franchise will bring home an 18th championship banner. The Dallas Mavericks kept hope alive, decisively beating the Cs 122-84 on Friday night.

So while you steel yourself for Game 5 on Monday night, here’s a look at some of the political news you might have missed over the last seven-ish days.

Shots. Spotted.

File this one under “Never bring a knife to a gunfight.”

Gunshot-detection company Sound Thinking, formerly ShotSpotter, escalated its beef with Bay State pols, led by Democratic U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, who have called for a federal investigation of the firm and its tech.

Calling in big guns of its own, Sound Thinking released a statement through the high-powered Boston PR firm, Regan Communications Group, arguing that the pols’ criticisms were based on “numerous recycled falsehoods and misleading assertions.”

Last month, Warren and Markey, joined by members of the state’s U.S. House delegation, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, asking it to look into whether the gunshot-detection system used in many cities, including Boston, violates civil rights protections embedded in U.S. law.

Critics have questioned the accuracy of the technology and have mused aloud on whether it’s been used as an excuse to over-police Black and brown communities.

The data backing up those assertions since has been called into question.

But “in incidents where lives may hang in the balance and every second counts, the ShotSpotter system alerts police to virtually all gunfire in a community’s coverage area within 60 seconds,” the company’s president and CEO Ralph A. Clark, wrote in a 35-page, heavily footnoted letter to the lawmakers.

“The fast response made possible by this technology ultimately helps save lives, locate suspects, and collect critical evidence,” he said.

Clark invited the lawmakers to the company’s “incident review” center near Union Station in Washington, D.C., where they can get a firsthand look at the company’s technology.

“We are proud of the value that ShotSpotter delivers to law enforcement to help address criminal gunfire and save lives,” Clark wrote.

Decongested Pricing?

New York’s governor might temporarily have put the brakes on plans to make drivers pay more for the privilege of entering Manhattan, but Boston Mayor Michelle Wu isn’t ready to call time on a similar plan for her city.

“I think all tools should be on the table, including congestion pricing,” Wu said during an interview on WGBH’s “Radio Boston” program last week. “However, the key about congestion pricing is that you need to have a reliable alternative so that it doesn’t just become a fee or a fine for traffic.”

Supporters of the scheme have argued it’s an effective tool in fighting climate change. And Boston City Council has batted it around as well.

Wu, who traveled to Rome last month with Gov. Maura Healey for a climate conference put on by the Vatican, also said the Eternal City is getting it right on public transportation.

“I talked with the mayor of Rome about what they’re doing on public transit,” Wu told the station. “Very inspiringly, they are building multiple new stations and new lines,” adding that it was “quite inspiring to think that a city as old as Rome is still striving to continue to improve their public transit system.”

Speaking of Stuff That’s Ancient

The MBTA, the nation’s oldest subway system, is “barely treading water,” and faces a “fiscal cliff” in its next budget, Commonwealth Beacon reported last week.

The agency’s Board of Directors approved a $3 billion budget, keeping it afloat for the coming year. But it was 2025 when they saw cause for concern, the publication reported.

“We have 13 months to figure out how we’re going to solve the problem” of a $700 million funding gap for the T, board member Tom Glynn said.

And if it doesn’t, the T could be forced to consider “massive” service cuts, according to the report.

“Cutting of service is not going to solve our problems. In fact, it’ll send us in the wrong direction,” Phil Eng, the T’s current general manager, said, according to Commnwealth Beacon. “We’re going to keep making the case to fund the T. The economy and public life thrives with mass transportation, and I think others who are going to help us solve this are fully aware of the need to find a way to support our needs.”

They Said It

“It’s terrible … It’s completely unprofessional. It does harm, frankly, to the dignity and the integrity of the workmen and women across the State Police and law enforcement. So as a former attorney general and as governor, I am disgusted by that.” — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey sounding off on the Karen Read trial and a state police trooper’s testimony.

Turned Up To 11

Sparking joy in the hearts of GenXers everywhere (including this one), all four members of indie rock legends R.E.M. appeared on stage together last week for the first time in 17 years.

The band also gave its first group interview in nearly 30 years on the eve of its induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Stereogum reported.

And here’s a live clip of the surprise song they played, “Losing my Religion,” from 1991′s indelible “Out of Time” LP.

Your Sunday Long Read

Bill Russell Airport? Writing for The Atlantic, Mark Leibovich argues that Massachusetts should rename its biggest and busiest airport for the late Celtics great.

“It’s high time the city properly recognized its greatest sports champion, a civil-rights hero who endured horrific racism during his time with the Celtics,” the magazine noted.

Fair warning, this one is behind a paywall. But it’s worth the read and the worthwhile discussion that it will generate.

That’s it for this week. See you all back here next week.

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