Politics
City to Pay $190K to 3 People Who Accused CPD Officers of Misconduct During 2020 Unrest at Brickyard Mall
(WTTW News)
Three Chicagoans who said a dozen Chicago police officers beat them during the unrest that swept the city after the police murder of George Floyd in 2020 will get $190,000 to end their lawsuit against the city, records show.
In all, Chicago taxpayers have spent approximately $13 million to defend and resolve lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct during the push for racial justice and police reform after Floyd’s murder, according to a WTTW News analysis.
The lawsuit, filed by Lazendra Collins, Willie Teague and Lawrence Teague, is the second to be resolved that alleged police officers beat Black Chicagoans attempting to flee the Northwest Side’s Brickyard Mall as looters began to ransack the mall.
The case was resolved May 4 after lawyers for the city of Chicago offered to pay $190,000 to the three plaintiffs to resolve the lawsuit before a trial was held or a settlement agreement reached. The agreement will pay Lawrence Teague and Collins $75,000 each, with an additional $45,000 going to Willie Teague, records show.
Shay Allen, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said they were pleased with the result, which came nearly five years after the lawsuit was filed.
“We hope this resolution sends a clear message that officers will be held accountable for how they conduct themselves, especially during moments of public protest,” Allen said.
The agreement was reached based on a provision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which allows plaintiffs to accept offers of judgment “made to avoid the uncertainty and risk of the outcome of litigation and the expense in time and money of further litigation and for the purpose of judicial economy” and resolve their cases, records show.
The Chicago City Council must approve all settlements of more than $100,000.
“The Department of Law used an offer of judgment as an efficient, fiscally responsible way to resolve a potentially high-exposure case in the city’s best interests,” said Kristen Cabanban, a spokesperson for the city’s Law Department.
The lawsuit filed by Collins, Lawrence Teague and Willie Teague is the second to be resolved in recent months after an offer of judgment, a rarely used way to resolve a lawsuit, records show. The other case to be resolved with an offer of judgment will pay $500,000 to a Chicago man who was charged with a murder in 2020 based on an alert from the city’s now-defunct gunshot detection system, according to court records.
Willie Teague and Lawrence Teague went to the outdoor mall to pick up Collins, who worked there, on the afternoon of May 31, 2020, planning to get something to eat, according to their lawsuit.
When they saw the heavy police presence, they joined a long line of cars waiting to exit the mall parking lot and witnessed officers smash the windows of another car attempting to leave and drag individuals out of the same vehicle, according to their lawsuit.
The City Council agreed in 2022 to pay $1.625 million to five people who were dragged from their car by seven Chicago police officers and beaten, records show.
Collins began recording the police officers’ actions and soon after officers “began smashing the Plaintiffs’ car windows with their batons while yelling various profanities at the plaintiffs in the car,” according to the lawsuit.
Lawrence Teague, who was in the car’s back seat, was struck by a piece of glass, and Collins was struck by an officer with a baton several times after she got out of the car to attempt to identify the officers, according to the lawsuit.
Collins’ hand was permanently damaged by the strikes, according to the lawsuit.
Lawrence Teague was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, according to the lawsuit. Those charges were dismissed in September 2020.
All three have “been diagnosed with various and serious forms of emotional injuries,” including severe post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the lawsuit.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
