Chicago taxpayers will pay $500,000 to resolve a lawsuit filed by a man who was charged with a murder in 2020 based on an alert from the city’s now-defunct gunshot detection system, according to court records.
Michael Williams, then 65, spent nearly a year in jail after being charged with shooting his neighbor, 25-year-old Safarian Herring, on May 31, 2020, while giving him a ride as protests and unrest triggered by the police murder of George Floyd swept the city.
Using an alert from the city’s ShotSpotter system, Chicago police officers determined Williams shot Herring while the two rode in Williams’ car. Williams told police Herring had been struck by a bullet fired into his car through an open window, according to his lawsuit…