CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - With strong opinions on both sides of the argument, the Cambridge City Council is set to discuss whether to restore ShotSpotter in the city — a debate that comes a month after a city worker was found fatally shot in the street hours after the incident occurred.
Xavier Bautista, 32, was walking to work for the DPW on July 4 when he was shot and killed. His body wasn’t found for hours.
Since his death, community members have questions whether the council’s decision to remove ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology, delayed the response time.
“Xavier was a person, not just a statistic” said Bautista’s fiancee, Demetris Grimsley. ” He was somebodys, partner, somebodys friend, somebodys son….and what happened to him.. it;’s hard and ii is an important conversation to have”
Councilors had previoulsy voted to remove the technology due to privacy concerns. Grimsley said she understands those concerns.
“I do think it’s a fair conversation to be had, I do understand… that there concerns that the community had about ShotSpotter, which I can also understand, having concerns about your privacy, and wantning a little more transparency in that regard I think itys 100 percent fair,”
Monday’s discussion will focus on a request to temporarily restore ShotSpotter in the areas of Cambridge where it had been previously used.
Grimsley said, “I am hoping that Xavier’s death was not in vain… so I do hope that there are positive things that come from it… if the city and community can come together and have a meaningful conversation about what safety looks like to them”
The meeting is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
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