I don't see anyone claiming to be surprised the technology exists, the notable thing is the update on the deployment progression of WAPS systems on civilian populations in the US.
I believe the newsworthy thing here is that the system has been in active use in Baltimore for the entire year 2016 so far, which is a surprise, in contrast to the 2014 article you linked that reported the company had "no active contracts inside the United States".
"[McNutt] is lobbying 10 US cities—he won’t name them, apart from Chicago—for longer contracts. He’s also dangling a sizable carrot in front of them: a new analysis center that would have “hundreds” of jobs and would act as a command center for all of the company’s operations nationwide."
Obviously one of those was Baltimore. Is it a leap to think that there may be others? Not to be crass, but this isn't gumshoe detective work here. He told us what his company was doing.
Good rule of thumb: If it's not illegal, people will do it if it is profitable.
[0]http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/07/a-tivo-for-crime-...