BOSTON — Imagine a tool that helps police detect gunshots in real time and take illegal guns off the streets. Now imagine Beacon Hill Democrats trying to ban that same tool.

Wild, right? Not in Massachusetts.

Just after 3:00 AM on Saturday, July 26, Boston Police were dispatched to 32 Gleason Street in Roxbury after a ShotSpotter sensor flagged a single round. Within minutes, officers from District B-2 were on scene.

They found a crowd blocking the street. As police got out of their cruiser, the group began to scatter. One man didn’t.

His left hand was buried in his pocket. A holster hung empty from his waistband. Officers moved in. He pulled away. The crowd got agitated. Backup from District B-3 and specialized units rolled in as tensions spiked.

The man — identified as Joshua Cooper, 36, of Stoughton — was finally cuffed. But that was just the start.

As officers walked him to a cruiser, a key fob fell from his pocket. They clicked it. A nearby vehicle lit up — illegally parked next to a hydrant.

Inside: a loaded Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0. One in the chamber. Six in the mag. Nearby on the street: a spent shell casing.

Cooper was hauled back to the station, where police say he became violent — swinging his fists during booking. He now faces a laundry list of charges:

• Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm
• Carrying a Loaded Firearm without a License
• Carrying a Firearm without a License
• Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card
• Resisting Arrest
• Three Counts of Assault and Battery on a Police Officer

This entire arrest — from the moment the gun was fired to the moment Cooper was in cuffs — hinged on ShotSpotter.

And yet, Beacon Hill Democrats want to kill it.

Critics call it invasive, flawed, and unfair. But this weekend it did exactly what it’s supposed to do: detect a gunshot, dispatch police, and get an armed suspect off the street.

Massachusetts may be the only place where stopping that process is considered progress.

---

Know something?

Send tips to: tips@massdailynews.com