Detroit Evening Report: Detroit police explore alternatives to ShotSpotter surveillance system
UAW members strike at the Dauch Corporation factory, the first ever Detroit Pheasant Flock Party this weekend and more in this Detroit Evening Report.
Detroit Police want to extend their contract with ShotSpotter before it expires at the end of the month. But DPD officials tell city council they’re searching for alternatives to the technology.
Detroit City Council has expressed concerns about ShotSpotter’s surveillance tech in the past and they have questions about the effectiveness and security of the system.
DPD Officer Mathew Pencil frequently responds to ShotSpotter incidents in the city’s ninth precinct.
He told council members that hearing gunfire is so common in the city, that sometimes residents won’t even call 911. “Sometimes residents are afraid. Sometimes they can’t tell where they came from, or they assume someone else will call. ShotSpotter doesn’t hesitate, it doesn’t panic, it doesn’t look away. It alerts immediately, and it gives the chance to intervene while seconds matter on the street.”
Pencil says ShotSpotter’s surveillance is the reason police responded after 66 shots were fired in one neighborhood on the night of August 17, 2025, minutes before anyone called 911.
The city’s Public Health and Safety Committee voted to postpone a decision on the contract until next week in order to hear from residents first.
-Reporting by Bre’Anna Tinsley
Additional headlines from Tuesday, June 2, 2026
UAW strike
About a thousand UAW members went on strike at the Dauch Corporation factory in Three Rivers Monday. Dauch is the company once known as American Axle. The Three Rivers plant is the company’s largest in Michigan. It makes axles for General Motors.
The union says Dauch is refusing to restore fair wages after the workers took cuts during the Great Recession. UAW President Shawn Fain kicked off the strike with a video saying “no contract…no axles.”
The Detroit News reports the strike could disrupt production of pickup trucks in Flint if it goes on for more than a couple of weeks.
Pheasant Flock Party
This weekend, you might want to pop into Detroit’s first ever Pheasant Flock Party. Brewery Faison and the Detroit Bird Alliance are co-hosting the event Saturday where Michiganders and Michigeese can partake in a bird festival block party.
There will be a bird impersonation pageant, a “crow-off,” bird-themed workshops and games, a “pheasant strut” (as one does) and a meet and greet with Fabio the Pheasant.
The Pheasant Flock Party is Saturday from noon until 6 p.m. at Brewery Faison at 1087 Beaufait Street on the city’s east side.
Vault of Midnight hosts game night
Vault of Midnight hosts its monthly game night Sunday in Hamtramck. This month’s featured games include Wondrous Creatures, High Society Yokai Carnival, some tiny games and more.
Detroit Vault of Midnight Game Night is every first Sunday from 5 – 8 p.m. at Florian East Lagers and Ales at 9350 Joseph Campau in Hamtramck.
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