Crime & Law
Jury Rejects Lawsuit Filed by Man Police Shot in CTA Red Line Station
Chicago police officers respond to Ariel Roman, who is seated on the ground moments after he was shot inside the Grand Red Line station on Feb. 28, 2020. (Civilian Office of Police Accountability)
A federal jury determined Chicago police officers did not violate the civil rights of the Chicago man they shot during a February 2020 incident in the Grand Red Line CTA station, records show.
After a seven-day trial, the jury determined the city should pay nothing to Ariel Roman, records show.
Roman’s attorney declined to comment to WTTW News about the verdict.
A spokesperson for the Department of Law said the department was pleased with the verdict.
Before the trial began, Chicago taxpayers paid $1.1 million to private lawyers hired to defend the two officers who attempted to stop Roman. A final tally of how much the successful defense cost will not be available for several weeks.
Former Chicago Police Officer Melvina Bogard was acquitted in November 2022 on criminal charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct for shooting Roman during rush hour at one of the city’s busiest train stations.
The trial represented a high-stakes gamble for the city that paid off. City lawyers typically recommend settling civil cases involving actions by the police that led to criminal charges and are ruled to have violated department policy.
While Bogard resigned before she could be disciplined for shooting Roman, the Chicago Police Board voted 5-4 in August 2023 to suspend Butler for one year rather than fire him. Butler is an active member of CPD, assigned to the Central (1st) Police District, which includes downtown, according to a department spokesperson.
The incident began when Bogard and Butler saw Roman crossing between cars while the train was moving, a violation of city ordinance, just after 4 p.m. on Feb. 28, 2020, according to the probe by COPA.
The two officers ordered Roman off the train so they could issue a citation. When Roman opened his backpack to get his identification, Butler grabbed his arm and a struggle began near the train tracks on a platform crowded with rush-hour commuters, according to the probe by COPA.
As the struggle continued, Butler moved Roman away from the tracks and Bogard discharged her Taser twice, according to the probe by COPA. Butler tackled Roman near the station’s escalator, and fired his Taser three times, according to the probe.
As Roman continued to resist, Bogard took out her pepper spray, which is also known as OC spray, and Butler yelled “shoot him.” Even though Roman’s face was inches away from her partner’s face, Bogard doused him with the chemical irritant, according to the probe.
Roman then got to his feet, prompting Bogard to unholster her weapon and say, “I’m going to shoot him,” according to the probe. Butler told her, again, to “shoot him,” according to the probe.
While attempting to clear the pepper spray from his eyes, Roman “staggered several feet toward” Bogard, who shot him in the abdomen, according to the probe. Wounded, Roman ran up the escalator, turning his back on both officers who pursued him, according to the probe.
Bogard fired a second time, striking Roman in the buttocks, according to the probe. Roman collapsed at the top of the stairs, where he was taken into custody, according to the probe.
Roman was unarmed, and all of the charges against him were later dropped, according to the probe.
Roman did not “pose an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to Officer Bogard, Officer Butler, or any nearby civilians either time that Officer Bogard discharged her weapon,” the probe concluded. “Additionally, Officer Bogard fired her weapon inside a crowded CTA station, at rush hour, without determining whether her partner or any bystanders were in her line of fire. In fact, the video evidence shows Officer Butler was standing directly behind (Roman) in Officer Bogard’s line of fire, at the time she fired the first shot.”
COPA concluded that “both officers unnecessarily escalated the situation throughout the incident” by subjecting Roman to five separate Taser discharges, two pepper spray deployments and two gunshots, according to the probe.
Bogard was acquitted by Cook County Judge Joseph Claps who determined that Roman posed a threat to both officers and disregarded their commands.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
