In all, Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $6.8 million to defend and settle lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct during the protests and unrest during the summer of 2020, according to an analysis by WTTW News.
George Floyd
Nearly $2 million of that toll went to pay private lawyers to defend the conduct of CPD officers from late May until mid-August 2020, one of the most tumultuous periods in Chicago history, according to records obtained by WTTW News.
Former Chicago Police Sgt. Cassandra Williams, who worked for the Chicago Police Department for 32 years, said she faced severe harassment and retaliation for filing a complaint against her commanding officer, Lt. Jason Brown, who remains on the force. “I crossed the blue line,” Williams said.
The two employees, a manager and a supervisor, “incompetently performed the duties of their positions” on May 30, 2020, when they cited the leaders of the Chicago Freedom School, according to a report released Friday by the city’s watchdog.
Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman told investigators he was struck by an officer after Foreman attempted to intervene after seeing several police officers “just whaling away on” a man with their batons, records show.
George Floyd’s death reignited a movement for civil rights and calls for police to be held accountable. Since then, several states, including Minnesota and Illinois, have passed police reform legislation.
Activists planned the vigil, along with a rally at the governor’s residence in St. Paul, for the two-year anniversary of Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020, which ignited protests in Minneapolis and around the world as bystander video quickly spread.
The decision reflects Biden’s struggle to use the limited powers of his office to advance his campaign promises, as well as his attempt to strike a balance between police and civil rights groups at a time when rising concerns about crime are eclipsing calls for reform.
Attorney Ben Crump has become a household name as the go-to lawyer for families impacted by police violence, including those of Michael Brown, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and many others. He was in Chicago Tuesday calling for federal police reform.
Speaking at the Union League Club Tuesday evening, Chicago-based attorney Antonio Romanucci and Ben Crump discussed their experience with the Floyd family’s historic settlement and called on federal legislators to act on calls for national police reform.
Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care as the 46-year-old Black man was pinned under fellow Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee for 9 1/2 minutes while handcuffed, facedown on the street on May 25, 2020.
George Floyd, 46, was killed on May 20, 2020, after Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck and pinned him to the street for 9 1/2 minutes as he was facedown and gasping for air. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back and Lane held down Floyd’s legs. Thao kept bystanders from intervening.
Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, averting a trial but likely extending the time he is already spending behind bars on a state conviction.
A federal docket entry on Monday showed that a hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday for Derek Chauvin to change his current not-guilty plea in the case. These types of notices indicate a defendant is planning to plead guilty.
Four former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a federal hearing that included arguments on several pretrial motions, including requests to hold separate trials.
The federal government deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters via heavy-handed criminal prosecutions in an attempt to disrupt and discourage the global movement that swept the nation last summer in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, according to a new report.
