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Resident criticizes Cambridge City police equipment purchases and ShotSpotter reauthorization
Summary
During public comment, a resident urged Cambridge City officials to prioritize social services over police spending, criticized a recent firearms purchase and the reauthorization of ShotSpotter, and invoked Vice Mayor McGovern's March 4 warning about the city's worsening fiscal outlook.
A resident during public comment at a Cambridge City Council meeting criticized proposed police equipment purchases and the reauthorization of police surveillance technology, saying the city’s worsening fiscal outlook means social services should take priority.
The commenter cited a March 4 remark by Vice Mayor McGovern, quoting him: "our financial outlook over the next few years is not what it has been in the past. Less tax revenue coming in means less money to spend. In my 20 years of elected office, I have never seen a financial outlook like this." The resident said that constrained revenue makes spending on new police weapons and surveillance harder to justify.
"Why then are we talking here about spending more than half a million dollars on new guns for cops?" the resident asked. The commenter also criticized reauthorizing ShotSpotter, saying it "cost another half million last year and will only increase as more of these plans are implemented." The resident added, "Militarized police and shoddy surveillance tech like ShotSpotter don't keep us safe," and invoked a past police killing in Cambridge, saying many residents are worried about potential lethal outcomes from new firearms purchases.
The remarks linked policing expenditures to broader budget priorities, contrasting spending on law enforcement technology with funding for library staff and educators. The commenter argued that investments in social services, including a transition wellness center, are more likely to "keep our neighbors alive and healthy."
The transcript of the public comment does not include a formal vote or ordinance text related to the items the resident described. The speaker also said, "the guns you approved tonight," but the meeting transcript provided here does not contain the motion, vote tallies, or agenda item language for a firearms purchase or a formal reauthorization vote on ShotSpotter.
Council members, staff or other speakers did not provide responses within the excerpted public comment in the transcript. The remarks were presented during the public comment portion of the meeting and reflect concerns raised by at least one resident about local budget priorities and police surveillance and equipment spending.
