Politics
Chicago Taxpayers Have Spent $1.76M to Defend Officer Who Shot 13-Year-Old Boy Without Justification, Leaving Him Paralyzed
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
Chicago taxpayers have paid more than $1.76 million to defend the Chicago police officer who shot a 13-year-old boy in May 2022, leaving him permanently paralyzed, according to documents obtained by WTTW News.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that Officer Noah Ball’s decision to shoot the boy was unjustified, a conclusion endorsed by Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling, records show.
Cierra Corbitt, the boy’s mother, has sued the city, alleging Ball “recklessly, callously, and wantonly” shot her son — identified in court records by his initials, A.G. — in violation of his civil rights as he obeyed officers’ orders to surrender after a brief foot pursuit near Chicago and Cicero avenues in Austin on May 18, 2022.
A trial date has not yet been set, records show.
A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department declined to comment to WTTW News, citing the department’s policy of not commenting on pending lawsuits.
The city’s contract with the police union requires the city to cover the costs of lawsuits filed against officers and pay for lawyers to represent them.
Chicago’s Law Department routinely hires outside law firms to defend the CPD in complicated, complex lawsuits alleging officers committed serious misconduct in the hopes of reducing the cost to taxpayers if a settlement is reached, officials said. In the rare cases that go to trial, private lawyers can often wage a more aggressive defense of CPD’s conduct than members of the city’s Law Department, which has suffered from staffing shortages for more than a decade.
That expertise comes at a significant premium, costing Chicago taxpayers four to five times more than in-house lawyers, according to estimates offered during City Council budget hearings where these costs are a perennial sticking point for budget-conscious alderpeople.
The two law firms hired to defend the city and Ball — Borkan & Scahill and the Sotos Law Firm — were paid nearly $1.76 million through Dec. 5, according to records obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Lawyers for the teen, who is approaching his 18th birthday, have quizzed city officials in depositions about whether Chicago officials could have prevented the unjustified shooting by heeding the warning in a 2017 probe by the U.S. Department of Justice that officers routinely violated the constitutional rights of Black and Latino Chicagoans during foot pursuits, which have repeatedly led to the deaths of Chicagoans fleeing the police.
The probe, completed during the Obama administration, urged the department to adopt a policy regarding foot pursuits.
If a jury decides city officials knew officers were routinely violating Chicagoans’ rights during foot pursuits and did nothing to hold officers accountable for misconduct, the city could be forced to pay A.G. and his family significantly more than if a jury determines he was wounded during an isolated incident.
The agency better known as COPA found that Ball shot the boy after he had turned toward officers chasing him on foot and “appeared to raise his hands” after being ordered to stop and surrender, based on video captured by a nearby surveillance camera, records show.
When Ball shot him, the boy “was unarmed and posed no imminent threat,” COPA’s investigation concluded.
Ball, who is not listed in the city’s database of active employees, was on a leave of absence in November when Snelling agreed to fire him and place him on a list of employees ineligible to be rehired by the city, records show. A CPD spokesperson said Ball is an inactive member of the department.
Ball, whose official city email is no longer active, could not be reached for comment. A lawyer representing Ball did not respond to a request for comment.
A month after Ball shot A.G., CPD finalized a new policy governing when officers can chase people on foot.
That policy, required by the federal court order known as the consent decree, was crafted after Chicago police officers shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez in March 2021.
Ball is facing termination by the Chicago Police Department for the second time in his career, which began in 2017.
In June 2021, Ball fired his gun at a man he and his partner were attempting to stop on suspicion of traffic violations, records show.
No one was injured during the incident.
However, COPA concluded in June 2023 that there was no evidence the man Ball and his partner were attempting to apprehend fired at officers, although a gun was recovered from the scene, records show. The agency ruled the shooting was unjustified and urged Snelling to fire Ball.
However, Snelling declined to endorse that recommendation, determining in September 2023 that Ball’s decision to fire his weapon was reasonable and justified.
Snelling’s decision to suspend Ball for one day for failing to turn on his body-worn camera during the incident was upheld by a member of the Chicago Police Board.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
