Black Lives Matter Lawsuit
Black Lives Matter Lawsuit
Black Lives Matter Lawsuit
and on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals in the City of Chicago who
have been or in the future will be subject to use of force by Chicago Police Department
Plaintiffs Black Lives Matter Chicago, Blocks Together, Brighton Park Neighborhood
Council, Justice for Families Black Lives Matter Chicago, Network 49, Womens All
Points Bulletin, and 411 Movement for Pierre Loury, file this class action Complaint for
declaratory and injunctive relief against the City of Chicago, as well as CPD Officers
Miguel Villanueva, Josue A. Ortiz, Richard Bolin, Dorothy Cade, Waukeesha Morris,
Angel Pena, Peter Jonas, Brett Polson, Jaeho Jung, Thomas McGuire, Chad Boylan, John
Coriell, Anthony Ostrowski, Lawrence Gade Jr., and John Lavorata, in their individual
INTRODUCTION
official power, including abuses by law enforcement. The Constitution and federal and
state laws prevent police officers from exploiting their positions of authority to subject
individuals to unwarranted physical violence, threats, and abuse. The City of Chicago
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has violated and continues to violate these longstanding canons of fairness and
equality. Acting through the CPD, the City of Chicago promotes a culture of rampant
2. For years and continuing to this day, the City of Chicago has employed a
pattern and practice of excessive force that adversely affects all people in Chicago, but
3. The CPDs pattern of civil rights violations against people of color is well-
documented. Between 2005 and 2015, the CPD reported using force on adults
approximately 42,500 times. In 30,736 cases the subject was Black, and in 6,364 cases the
CPD use of force over a ten year period. Whites, who make up a similar portion of the
citys population, were just over 9 percent of CPD use of force cases.
5. Black men between the ages of 20 and 34 experience force at a rate about
14 times that of their white counterparts. Black women in the same age range are about
1 The CPD does not collect data on individuals who identify as gender non-binary. All CPD data is
tracked by reference to men and women.
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6. Latinxs are subject to much higher rates of CPD force as wellmore than
double the rate for whites between 2005 and 2015. From 2013 to 2015, people in
predominantly Latinx districts were subject to police force at a rate 20 percent higher
relief for the abuse they suffer at the hands of the CPD. No reasonable system of police
accountability exists, and the system that does exist is discriminatorily applied. Between
January 2011 and March 2016, white complainants were three times more likely than
Black complainants and six times more likely than Latinx complainants to have their
8. The violations and injuries alleged herein have been recognized by the
U.S. Department of Justice (the DOJ), the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force
(the Task Force), the federal courts, civil rights activists, City officialsincluding the
police violence. Over the years, these official abuses have caused grievous harm to
individuals in this City, including the named Plaintiffs, their families, the Plaintiff
9. The City of Chicagos de facto policies, practices, and customs, which give
rise to the violations alleged in this Complaint, have gone unchecked through multiple
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10. The City continues to pay out tens of millions of taxpayer dollars each
year as a result of its pattern and practice of police brutality. The City has proven that it
would rather pay for its officers continued use of excessive force than remedy the
11. Absent federal court supervision, nothing will improve. Internal revisions
conditions on the ground for those subjected on a daily basis to police abuse. CPD
policy changes, implemented over the years and supposedly as recently as May 2017,
are superficial changes in name only. Personnel shifts have also failed to correct the
mentality wholly disconnected from the policies that exist on the books. The thin blue
line reigns supreme. The City of Chicago has proven time and time again that it is
incapable of ending its own regime of terror, brutality and discriminatory policing.
13. It is clear that federal court intervention is essential to end the historical
and on-going pattern and practice of excessive force by police officers in Chicago.
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14. The named individual and organizational Plaintiffs seek a city-wide, class
action injunction prohibiting the abusive policies and practices undergirding the alleged
constitutional and state law violations alleged herein. These unconstitutional policies
that targets Black and Latinx people who reside in or visit the City of Chicago; the
methods, including Taser use, shootings, vehicular violence, baton use, use of chemical
agents, physical harassment during baseless street stops, and hand-to-hand violence
such as body slams, emergency take-downs, arm locks, chokeholds, punching, kicking,
and slapping; the CPDs use of excessive force and physical harassment targeting youth
of color; the CPDs reliance upon overly aggressive tactics that lead to unnecessary
escalation and excessive force; the perpetuation of a code of silence and a failure of
repeatedlywith impunity; the Citys failure to train the 12,000 members of the CPD,
many of whom regularly use force against residents and visitors of Chicago without
proper safeguards; and inadequate municipal data collection systems that impede
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15. This is an injunctive civil rights action Complaint filed on behalf of a class
of all persons who, since June 14, 2015, have been, or in the future will be, subjected to
uses of force by the CPD. Plaintiffs also seek relief on behalf of a subclass consisting of
the Black and Latinx members of the larger class. This lawsuit is brought against the
City of Chicago for violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United
States Constitution, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983, and Illinois state law, including the
Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003, 740 ILCS 23/5. The individual named Plaintiffs
individually seek monetary damages against the City of Chicago and individual CPD
officers for the harm they incurred as a result of the Citys policies and practices. But all
Plaintiffs primarily seek declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of the entire city-
wide class, so as to put an end, once and for all, to the CPDs practice of subjecting the
16. This case arises under the U.S. Constitution and the laws of the United
States. The case presents a federal question within this Courts jurisdiction under Article
III of the Constitution and 28 U.S.C. 1331; this Court also has jurisdiction under 28
U.S.C. 1343(3) to redress the deprivation, under color of state law, of any right,
privilege, or immunity secured by the U.S. Constitution. The Court has supplemental
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jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1367(a) over claims arising under Illinois state law,
17. Plaintiffs seek remedies under 28 U.S.C. 2201 and 2002, 42 U.S.C.
1983 and 1988, and Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This Court may
18. Venue is proper in the United States District Court for the Northern
INDIVIDUAL PARTIES
Plaintiffs
July 9, 2016, during a peaceful demonstration, Mr. Campbell was subjected to excessive
force, false arrest and malicious prosecution by CPD Officers John Coriell (#14274),
Anthony Ostrowski (#15324), Thomas McGuire (#1337), and Chad Boylan (#8200) in the
to future unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the policies and
practices described herein. Mr. Campbell brings this action on behalf of himself, and a
class of similarly situated individuals who are subject to the CPDs use of force, and
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seeks injunctive and declaratory relief. Mr. Campbell also seeks monetary damages on
behalf of himself.
20. Plaintiff RUBIN CARTER is a 30-year-old Black man who resides in Forest
Park, Illinois. He is a regular visitor to the City of Chicago, where his family resides. On
April 8, 2017, he was subjected to excessive force and false arrest by CPD Officers Josue
A. Ortiz (#15448) and Miguel Villanueva (#17423) in the West Town neighborhood of
the City of Chicago. Mr. Carter is likely to be subjected to future unconstitutional and
illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the policies and practices described herein. Mr.
Carter brings this action on behalf of himself, and a class of similarly situated
individuals who are subject to the CPDs use of force, and seeks injunctive and
declaratory relief. Mr. Carter also seeks monetary damages on behalf of himself.
Chicago, Illinois. On October 6, 2015, he was subjected to excessive force and false arrest
by CPD Officer Richard Bolin (#14590) in the West Pullman neighborhood of the City of
Chicago. Officers Dorothy Cade (#7814) and Waukeesha Morris (#8255) failed to
intervene to prevent Officer Bolins abuse of Mr. Sharkey, or otherwise report Officer
Bolins use of unnecessary and excessive force. Mr. Sharkey is likely to be subjected to
future unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the policies and
practices described herein. Mr. Sharkey brings this action on behalf of himself, and a
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class of similarly situated individuals who are subject to the CPDs use of force, and
seeks injunctive and declaratory relief. Mr. Sharkey also seeks monetary damages on
behalf of himself.
Chicago, Illinois. On July 16, 2016, he was subjected to excessive force and false arrest
by CPD Officers Peter Jonas (#5069), Brett Polson (#5612), Angel Pena (#7135), and Jaeho
Jung (#13387) in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. Mr. Beckwith is likely to be
subjected to future unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the
policies and practices described herein. Mr. Beckwith brings this action on behalf of
himself, and a class of similarly situated individuals who are subject to the CPDs use of
force, and seeks injunctive and declaratory relief. Mr. Beckwith also seeks monetary
with her children in Chicago, Illinois. On April 3, 2016, she was subjected to excessive
force by CPD Officers Lawrence Gade Jr. (#1841) and John Lavorata (#8464) in the Gold
unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the policies and practices
described herein. Ms. Linwood brings this action on behalf of herself, and a class of
similarly situated individuals who are subject to the CPDs use of force, and seeks
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injunctive and declaratory relief. Ms. Linwood also seeks monetary damages on behalf
of herself.
Chicago, Illinois. On April 3, 2016, she was subjected to excessive force by CPD Officers
Lawrence Gade (#1841) and John Lavorata (#8464) in the Gold Coast neighborhood of
Chicago. Ms. Jackson is likely to be subjected to future unconstitutional and illegal uses
of force by the CPD, under the policies and practices described herein. Ms. Jackson
brings this action on behalf of herself, and a class of similarly situated individuals who
are subject to the CPDs use of force, and seeks injunctive and declaratory relief. Ms.
for justice with families most impacted by race-based violence and marginalization of
Black communities, while working to create just and equitable systems. Black Lives
Matter Chicago works to end state violence and criminalization of Black communities
Black Lives Matter Chicago live in or regularly travel through Chicago and have been
or are likely to be subjected to future unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by the
CPD, under the policies and practices described herein. Police violence forces Black
Lives Matter Chicago to spend additional time and money addressing police abuses
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encountered by its members, diverting resources away from Black Lives Matters
mission of creating just and equitable systems for all. Black Lives Matter Chicago brings
this action on its own behalf and as an organizational representative for its members.
Black Lives Matter Chicago participates as a plaintiff only for purposes of securing
organizing group in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood on Chicagos West Side.
BT empowers residents to work together for systematic changes that bring concrete
an area of concern for BT. Individual members of BT live in or regularly travel through
Chicago, especially the West Humboldt Park neighborhood, and have been or are likely
to be subjected to future unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the
policies and practices described herein. Individual members are particularly likely to be
affected given the level of police abuse in that neighborhood. Police violence forces BT
to spend additional time and money addressing police abuses encountered by its
members, diverting resources away from the organizations focus on other social justice
issues critical to its mission, including education, housing, and economic justice. BT
brings this action on its own behalf and as an organizational representative for its
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injunctive relief.
Chicago's Southwest Side. BPNC's mission is to create a safer community, improve the
for youth, protect immigrant rights, promote gender equality, and end all forms of
regularly travel through Chicago, particularly the Brighton Park neighborhood, and
have been or are likely to be subjected to future unconstitutional and illegal uses of
force by the CPD, under the policies and practices described herein. Of the 197
allegations of police abuse made in the Brighton Park neighborhood between 2011 and
2015, 50 percent of the complaints were made by Latinx residents and 18 percent were
made by Black residents. Police violence forces the BPNC to spend additional time and
money addressing police abuses encountered by its members, diverting resources away
from the organizations focus on other social justice issues critical to its mission,
including education, housing, immigration, and gender issues. The BPNC brings this
action on its own behalf and as an organizational representative. The BPNC participates
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state and police violence. Justice for Families designs campaigns, strategies, and direct
actions with families so they can fight for justice for their loved ones. It provides
financial support to families after a loss, as well as safe healing spaces for families to
talk about their experiences and console each other. Individual members of the Justice
for Families live in or regularly travel through Chicago and have been or are likely to be
subjected to future unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the
policies and practices described herein. Police violence forces Justice for Families to
spend additional time and money addressing police abuses encountered by its
members, diverting resources away from the organizations focus on issues of non-state
violence that impacts families. Justice for Families brings this action on its own behalf
and as an organizational representative for its members. Justice for Families participates
leadership that advance a high quality of community life, benefiting all residents in the
49th Ward of the City of Chicago. Network 49 works through community-led and open
processes to identify the key issues of concern for its community and its neighbors.
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Those concerns include opposing the privatization of public education and defending
particularly the Rogers Park, Edgewater, and West Ridge neighborhoods, and have
been or are likely to be subjected to future unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by
the CPD, under the policies and practices described herein. Police violence forces
Network 49 to spend additional time and money addressing police abuses encountered
by its members, diverting resources away from the organizations focus on other social
justice issues critical to its mission, including education, community development, and
community safety. Network 49 brings this action on its own behalf and as an
education, and training to eradicate all forms of violence against women during
through Chicago, and have been or are likely to be subjected to future unconstitutional
and illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the policies and practices described herein.
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WAPB brings this action as an organizational representative for its members. WAPB
participates as a plaintiff only for purposes of securing declaratory and injunctive relief.
formed in response to the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Pierre Loury by Chicago Police.
the city of Chicago by the civil servants that are contracted to serve, protect, and uphold
the law. The organization is a vehicle for information to keep everyone informed,
educated, and active in the fight for justice for Loury and all families who are affected
travel through Chicago and have been or are likely to be subjected to future
unconstitutional and illegal uses of force by the CPD, under the policies and practices
described herein. Police violence forces the 411 Movement to spend additional time and
money addressing police abuses encountered by its members, diverting resources away
from the organizations focus on other issues of institutional racism. The 411 Movement
brings this action on its own behalf and as an organizational representative for its
members. The 411 Movement participates as a plaintiff only for purposes of securing
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Defendants
of the City of Chicago, located in the Northern District of Illinois. It is authorized under
the laws of the State of Illinois to maintain the CPD, which acts as the Citys agent in the
area of municipal law enforcement, and for which the City is ultimately responsible.
Defendant CITY was, at all times material to this Complaint, the employer and
MORRIS (#8255), PETER JONAS (#5069), BRETT POLSON (#5612), ANGEL PENA
JR. (#1841), and JOHN LAVORATA (#8464) are City of Chicago employees with the
CPD. Each is sued in his or her individual capacity for violating the individual
constitutional rights of the named Plaintiffs. They are referred to collectively herein as
34. At all times material to this Complaint, the Defendant Officers acted
under color of state law as police officers of the City of Chicago, and acted in the course
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ALLEGATIONS OF FACT
35. The Citys policies, practices, and customs concerning the use of force are
the direct and proximate cause of the constitutional violations outlined in this
Complaint. The effects of these policies are widespread throughout the City. While the
within the City of Chicagothe South Loop, West Town, West Pullman, the Gold
Coast, and South Shoreeach was harmed as a result of the Citys municipal-wide
policies of discriminatory policing and excessive force. As a result, all members of the
Plaintiff class are subject to a heightened risk of physical and emotional harm.
36. The Citys policies and practices are the true cause of the harm suffered by
the named Plaintiffs. They have been perpetuated by the City of Chicago and the CPD
for decades, continuing through the present day and, absent the relief requested herein,
A. The City of Chicago, Through the Chicago Police Department, Has a Policy,
Practice, and Longstanding Custom of Racially Discriminatory Policing.
37. The CPD has a history of racially discriminatory policing. The use of
excessive force against people of color is a key mode of social control used by the CPD
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and has been for decades. The use of abusive tactics against these communities instills
38. In April 2016, the Task Force released a report about the system of
training, accountability and oversight of CPD officers (the Task Force Report). It
found: The communitys lack of trust in CPD is justified. There is substantial evidence
negative experiences with the police over an extended period of time. There is also
substantial evidence that these experiences continue today through significant disparate
impacts associated with the use of force, foot and traffic stops and bias in the police
39. The Task Force reported that racial bias in the CPD was not a thing of the
past. Instead, data establishes that CPDs use of force disproportionately affects
people of color. The same is true for foot and traffic stops. These enforcement actions
40. The shooting of Black teenager Laquan McDonald by CPD Officer Jason
Van Dyke on October 20, 2014 created a public firestorm over police violence targeting
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minority communities in Chicago. But while McDonalds death may have been a
conduct.
41. Historical context for the current state of the CPD is telling.
National Convention. Officers had been given orders to shoot to kill if protests escalated
and many officers took this as a blank check for violence. A CBS reporter observed:
Now theyre moving in, the cops are moving and they are really belting these
characters. Theyre grabbing them, sticks are flailing. People are laying on the ground. I
can see them, colored people. Cops are just belting them; cops are just laying it in.
There's piles of bodies on the street. There's no question about it. You can hear the
screams, and there's a guy they're just dragging along the street and they don't care. I
dont thinkI dont know if he's alive or dead. Holy Jesus, look at him. Five of them are
belting him, really, oh, this man will never get up.
43. In 1969, the CPD executed Black Panther leader and activist Fred
Hampton as he slept beside his pregnant girlfriend. Mark Clark, another activist in the
apartment raided by the police, was also killed. The six survivors, several of whom
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were seriously wounded, were beaten by police and arrested. A later investigation
revealed that the police fired 82 to 99 shots at Hampton and the others in the apartment.
In 1982, the City agreed to settle a civil suit filed on behalf of the survivors and relatives
44. In 1972, United States Representative Ralph Metcalfe held hearings after
receiving reports that police were abusing Black residents of Chicago and that the CPD
was ignoring these complaints. Metcalfes panel uncovered many incidents of abusive
police conduct, including excessive force, and Black Chicagoans described being beaten
for minor infractions. Metcalfes panel determined that the use of fatal force by police
is far more frequent in Chicago than in other major urban centers and [i]n serious
instances of abusive police conduct, the police consistently place criminal charges to
justify their conduct and put the citizen-victim on the defensive. Metcalfe wrote a
nearly 90-page report documenting police abuses and demanding reforms. The report
45. Between 1972 and 1991, former CPD Commander Jon Burge and his
midnight crew tortured more than 200 criminal suspects, most of them Black, to obtain
confessions. Tactics used by Burge and his crew included beatings, suffocating, burning
with cigarettes and radiators, and electric shocks. Ten of the suspects tortured into
confessing were sent to Death Row. For years, the City of Chicago turned a blind eye
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and refused to investigate Burge, despite clear evidence (including medical evidence)
that torture was being used in CPD Areas on the South Side of Chicago.
46. It was not until activists and Burge survivors sought reform and filed
countless post-conviction and civil rights lawsuits that the torture cases were brought to
light. In 2015, the City announced the establishment of a $5.5 million reparations fund
for victims of torture by Burge. By 2015, the City had already paid $57 million to Burge
victims and an additional $50 million for the legal defense of police officers involved in
those cases.
47. Burge and his midnight crew are just some of many examples of Chicago
police officers who have engaged in patterns of abuse. Detective Richard Zuley was the
subject of investigations into his use of torture in the 1990s and early 2000s. Detective
Reynaldo Guevara is accused of abusing and framing at least 51 people for murder,
most of them Black or Latinx. Former Chicago Police Sergeant Ronald Watts and his
tactical team engaged in robbery, extortion, evidence fabrication, and excessive force in
the Ida B. Wells Homes in Chicago throughout the 2000s. Commander Glenn Evans was
implicated in at least 45 excessive force complaints between 1988 and 2008more than
any other CPD officer during those decades. The City of Chicago was on notice about
the criminal activities of these and many other abusive officers, but failed to take action
to stop them.
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48. In recent years, the CPD eliminated whole units as a result of officers
abuses. In 2007, the CPD disbanded its Special Operations Section (SOS), tasked with
taking guns and drugs off the street in the early 2000s, after a criminal investigation
showed its officers abused citizens for financial gain. Seven members of the unit were
criminally charged with armed violence, home invasion, and kidnapping. SOS was the
most complained against unit (in a list of 662 officers who amassed 11 or more
complaints between 2001 and 2006), but the least likely to be disciplined.
discriminatory policing, the CPD has a history of illegally stopping and seizing Black
50. In the 1980s, the CPD gang crimes unit made thousands of arrests
annually for disorderly conduct. These street sweeps were used as pretext to arrest
many youth of color. In 1980, 89,382 Black individuals were arrested for disorderly
conduct, compared to 33,270 white and 17,931 Latinx individuals. A federal lawsuit
brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supposedly put an end to this
practice and a reportedly irate federal judge voided an estimated 800,000 disorderly
conduct arrests over five years. Upon his election as mayor of Chicago, Harold
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51. While the number of disorderly conduct arrests dropped in the 1990s and
2000s, the racial disparity remained. In the 2000s, the Black/white ratio for disorderly
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in City of Chicago v. Morales, 527 U.S. 41 (1999).
The ordinance had been used by police to engage in street sweeps, arresting about
45,000 people over three years. Most of the people targeted were Black and Latinx,
many of whom were not gang members. The ordinance had no discernible impact on
the crime rate. In striking it down, the Supreme Court held that the ordinance created a
potential for arbitrary enforcement, id. at 56, because it afford[ed] too much
discretion to the police, id. at 64, and reach[ed] a substantial amount of innocent
53. In the 2000s, statistical proof emerged that the CPD targeted people of
color for widespread investigatory stops and frisks. Data collected by the ACLU
54. During the summer of 2014, the ACLU reported that 250,000 individuals
in Chicago were stopped without a finding of criminal activity. Blacks and Latinxs
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accounted for about 89 percent of the stops, far out of proportion to their respective
populations.
55. The Citys policy and practice of racist policing is evident in its history of
lawsuits filed by victims and survivors of officer violence, and subsequent financial
settlements. Throughout the years, the City has taken no steps to terminate officers who
harm people of color while on the job. Instead, the City has spent millions of dollars
56. Between 2004 and 2015, Chicago spent approximately $642 million on
lawsuit settlements, judgments, and legal fees for defenses related to police misconduct;
$391.5 million was paid in settlements and judgments alone. In 2014 and 2015,
settlements, judgments, legal fees, and other costs in police misconduct cases cost the
City at least $106 million. In 2016, Chicago paid nearly $32 million for 187 police
misconduct lawsuits, and $20 million more on outside lawyers to litigate the cases.
57. Of the police misconduct cases filed against the CPD, 88 percent end in
settlement; on average, a lawsuit against the CPD is settled almost every other day.
Overall, the city spent more than $280 million settling 943 misconduct lawsuits from
2011 to 2016, plus another $91 million for outside lawyers to help defend police officers
in those suits. In doing so, the City exceeded its budget for misconduct lawsuits by
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almost $270 million, and was forced to borrow money using long-term bonds, at cost to
taxpayers.
58. These significant financial outlays have failed to result in changes to the
Citys policies and practices concerning use of force and the treatment of people of
color. They prove that the City of Chicago is willing to pay to enable officers to continue
59. The facts of the suits and settlements provide further evidence of a pattern
60. In the years covered by this Complaint, June 2015 to June 2017, at least 99
cases were filed by people alleging excessive use of force by CPD officers. These cases
the plaintiffs, all family members, were relaxing in their home at 6540
South Drexel Avenue when several CPD officers pulled up to the house.
The officers were seeking a 29-year-old man on drug charges, and had a
search warrant for the home. One of the plaintiffs, a Black man, told the
officers that only children and a dog were inside the house, but the
officers still entered the home. The plaintiffs granddaughter and her
friend where watching television in the living room when the officers
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screamed at them to get the fuck on the ground. The officers put guns to
their heads while another officer shot the dog and made mocking remarks
about doing so. The dog did not attack, approach, or threaten the officers.
An officer yanked one of the girls to her feet and threw her face-first into
the ground, leaving her with a lacerated lip, and then handcuffed her. The
officer allegedly said, Since you wanna act like a nigger Im going to treat
you like one. The other girl was then pulled up from the ground by her
calling the girls young dumb bitches who grow up to be nothing ass
The granddaughters friend gave the officers her name and address and
one officer said that he knew her family and would kill them.
man, was driving through Chicago from where he lived in Iowa. He had a
valid permit to carry a gun. CPD officers pulled him over at Augusta
Boulevard and Central Park Avenue while he was traveling with three
passengers in his car. The officers approached the car with guns drawn
and began yelling at the passengers to exit the vehicle. The plaintiff
showed the police his weapon permit but the officers responded that they
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would arrest him anyway. The officers then forcefully removed him from
the car. When the plaintiff asked why he was being stopped, the officers
told him that the car was carrying too many Black passengers and that,
since one out of every three Black people are dirty, someone in the car
must have been doing something illegal. The plaintiff was then arrested
the plaintiff at 1400 North Lake Shore Drive where he was attempting to
whether the plaintiff should be taken to the hospital; the plaintiff declined
and went back inside. Officers followed him, put him in a chokehold,
tackled him to the ground and kicked him. One officer tased the plaintiff
several times. They told him they were removing him from the building
man, went to pick up his brothers tow truck, which had a boat attached to
it, when he was pulled over by police and placed in custody. Officers put
handcuffs on him and tightened them to the point that they caused
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the back of the squad car. Officers then pulled into a Chicago fire station
and other officers joined them. They dragged the plaintiff out of the car by
in an unmarked car. The officer exited the car with his gun drawn. The
plaintiff then ran away. The officer caught him and ordered him to lay on
the ground. The officer handcuffed the plaintiff and then kicked him in
Black man, was sitting in his vehicle near East 80th Street and South
plainclothes with their guns drawn. The officers pulled and kicked the
plaintiffs car door, yelling at him to open it. The plaintiff did not know
the individuals were police officers, and did not comply until an officer
pointed a gun directly at the plaintiffs head and stated that he would
shoot the plaintiff through the window if he did not open the door. The
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plaintiff exited the vehicle and was thrown to the ground. An officer used
a Taser on the plaintiff 14 times. Several other officers arrived on the scene
group with weapons in hand. They did not observe any of the individuals
officers approaching with their guns drawn. The officers caught the
plaintiff and one used his Taser on him. The plaintiff fell to the street and
the other officer ran over the plaintiff with his police vehicle.
Chicago Police officers for a minor traffic violation. While she was
receiving the ticket, police slammed her against the police car and twisted
her arms behind her back. She fell and injured both her knees and her
foot, on which she had recently had surgery. The officers then violently
grabbed her, tore her shirt, and broke her glasses. She was subsequently
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the plaintiff, a Black woman, was at her home at 62 East 102nd Street with
search the property for the suspect. The plaintiffs daughter declined to
give permission. The officers then forced their way into the home and
began manhandling the plaintiff, who had a brace on one of her arms. One
of the officers twisted the braced arm behind her back and shoved her to
the ground. The plaintiffs daughter demanded the officers stop and leave
the house; she tried to shield her mother from the attack. At that point,
one of the officers punched her in the face, threw her to the ground, and
said, tase that bitch. The plaintiffs daughter was then tased several
the plaintiffs daughter, who weighed 280 pounds, sit on the lap of the
plaintiff, who weighed 170 pounds. One of the officers grabbed the
daughter by the roots of her hair and hit her multiple times with a
flashlight. The officers used racial slurs and other derogatory language
throughout the encounter. After being informed that their original suspect
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had been caught, the officers left the plaintiffs home without uncuffing
her.
61. At least 19 excessive force suits filed since June 2015 have resulted in
a. Price v. City of Chicago et al, 1:16-cv-01946: On May 31, 2015, the plaintiff, a
Black man and Navy veteran, was involved in a minor car accident behind
following the accident. The plaintiff exited the car and began recording
the encounter on his cell phone. The officer ordered the plaintiff to put his
hands on the hood of his vehicle and the plaintiff complied. The officer
then punched the plaintiff in the face and threw him to the ground. The
officer placed his knee on the plaintiffs back and slammed his head
against the pavement multiple times. A few minutes later, other officers
arrived on the scene and kicked the plaintiff. One officer was still on top
of the plaintiff when another deployed pepper spray. Yet another officer
then deployed his Taser on the plaintiff while he was still on the ground.
plaintiff, a Black woman, was traveling in a car near 95th Street and South
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another vehicle. The plaintiff stopped her vehicle behind the car on which
the officers were conducting the stop. An officer arrived on the scene,
jumped out of his car, and began shooting in the direction of the plaintiffs
vehicle. The officer shot approximately 16 rounds. The plaintiff put her
vehicle into reverse to avoid the gunfire but struck another vehicle,
injuring herself and damaging both cars. The plaintiff also witnessed the
officers using unnecessary force on the juveniles who had been stopped in
the other vehicle. Those teenagers also entered a settlement with the City
c. Miller v. White et al, 1:16-cv-02446: On June 13, 2015, the plaintiff was
placed in custody at 7712 South East End and then brought to a police
station by CPD officers. Unprovoked, the officers put the plaintiff into a
head-lock while other officers kicked and struck him. The plaintiff
suffered broken bones in his face, a laceration around his eye, and broken
Black woman, was walking on the sidewalk on May 13, 2014, near 235
North Lockwood Street, heading towards the El train station. CPD officers
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pulled their car over where the plaintiff was walking and ordered her to
come to their car. As the plaintiff approached, one officer grabbed one of
the plaintiffs arms and the other officer grabbed her other arm. One of the
officers bent and twisted the plaintiffs arm and performed a takedown
procedure. Another officer placed his knee on the plaintiffs back, causing
warrant or permission. The plaintiff, who was not the leaseholder of the
apartment, told the officers that she did not reside in the apartment and
did not control the music. At that point, the plaintiff was hanging out in
the apartment in underwear and a t-shirt. The officers told her to shut up,
and acted aggressively towards her. The plaintiff called her father for
guidance on how to deal with the aggressive police. One of the officers,
angry at her for calling her father, grabbed the plaintiff, twisted her arm
behind her back, and handcuffed her, without cause. He then paraded her
down the street in her underwear, not allowing her to dress. The plaintiff
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was falsely charged with obstruction and resisting a police officer. She
officers came to a party on the 1500 block of South Christiana Avenue and
began harassing various people at the party, including the 21-year-old son
intervene, an officer slammed her onto the hood of a police car. Another
plaintiff, also Black, then began protesting the assault and the officer hit
him in the head with a baton, causing him to collapse to the ground. Both
approached him with their hands on their guns. The plaintiff, believing he
could be harmed by the officers, fled the scene. The officers pursued him
the officers commands and raised his hands to show he was unarmed. A
newly-arrived officer then began shooting. Two other officers also began
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shooting, striking the plaintiff five times in the chest, stomach, arms, and
legs and grazing him with two additional bullets in his face and neck.
h. Nezirov v. Askins et al, 1:15-cv-05923: On July 11, 2014, the plaintiff, a taxi
the plaintiff was waiting for a passenger, a CPD officer approached and
asked him to move his taxi. The officer then issued the plaintiff a ticket, at
which point the plaintiff told the officer that he would see him in court.
The officer re-approached the car, grabbed the plaintiff by the throat, and
plaintiffs, both Black, were outside their home at 718 West 54th Place. CPD
officers arrived and began towing one of the plaintiffs cars. The plaintiffs
requested permission to remove personal items from the car before it was
towed. One of the officers then hit the female plaintiff, who was pregnant
share of police brutality, but the CPD has failed to take any effective steps to address
patterns of police abuse. Of the CPDs roughly 12,000 officers, 124 were identified in
nearly one-third of the lawsuits alleging misconduct that the City settled between 2009
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and early 2016, costing the City $34 million. For example, in that time period the City
settled seven lawsuits against Officer Sean Campbell, and four against his former
partner, Steven Sautkus. Yet the City has consistently failed to take disciplinary action
against the repeat offenders who terrorize private individuals in this City.
63. Incidents of racially discriminatory policing are not relegated to the past.
The Citys policies and practices of racist policing remain in effect, and are the moving
64. The 2016 Task Force Report confirmed that institutional racism is deep-
seated within the CPD. It is especially visible in the CPDs use of weapons on Black and
Latinx people. The Report found that CPDs own data gives validity to the widely held
belief the police have no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color.
People of color are disproportionately the targets of police bullets. Since 1996, over 1,600
people have been shot by Chicago Police; more than 90 percent of those were Black men
or children.
years 2010 to 2015 reveals that Black people accounted for 80 percent of the 262 people
shot by the CPD (despite Black people comprising only 33 percent of Chicagos
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population) and Latinxs accounted for 14 percent of the total, while whites were less
than 6 percent of the total. Black people were the target of 76 percent of the 1,886 CPD
66. In keeping with these numbers, over the past five years, there have been
Richard Grimes, Cleotha Mitchell, Kajuan Raye, Darius Jones, Joshua Beal, Paul ONeal,
Derek Love, Pierre Loury, Thurman Reynolds, Lamar Harris, Charles Smith, Quintonio
LeGrier, Bettie Jones, Jeffery McCallum, James Anderson, Rafael A. Cruz Jr., Heriberto
Westley, Jeffrey Kemp, Justus Howell, Laquan McDonald, Ronald Johnson, Roshad
McIntosh, Desean Pittman, Warren Robinson, Pedro Rios, Dominique Franklin Jr., Joe
Huff Jr., Mark Garcia, Deonta Mackey, Raason Shaw, Hector Hernandez, Veronica
Rizzo-Acevedo, Gary Smith, Michael Myers, Francisco Rocha, Steven Isby, Darius Cole-
Garrit, Terrence Gilbert, Cedrick Chatman, Dakota Bright, Rekia Boyd, Stephon Watts,
67. The highest rates of police shootings between 2010 and 2015 occurred in
the mostly Black and Latinx neighborhoods on the South and West Sides of the City,
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the lowest rates of police shootings occurred in the predominantly white neighborhoods
68. People of color are also more likely to be subjected to non-lethal force by
police. As reported by the Task Force, the 2015 Chicago Community Survey conducted
by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago found large racial disparities
in the use of force reported by respondents.15% of Black people and 17% of Latinos
other groups were at least twice as likely to have been subjected to some form of force
individuals. Members of the Task Force reported hearing over and over again from a
range of voices, particularly from African-Americans, that some CPD officers are racist,
have no respect for the lives and experiences of people of color and approach every
circumstance, is a criminal. The Task Force cited the ACLUs stop data in support of
this assertion: 72 percent of people stopped by police in Chicago in 2014 were Black and
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percent of young Black men described being stopped by police in 2015; 56 percent of
70. CPD traffic stop data as reported by the ACLU reinforce these disparities.
In 2013, Black and Latinx drivers were searched four times as often as white drivers
even though contraband was found on white drivers twice as often as on Black and
Latinx drivers. The CPD also set up 84 percent of DUI checkpoints in predominantly
Black and Latinx police districts, despite the fact that majority-white districts have more
71. The unlawful use of investigatory stops is directly related to the CPDs
policy and practice of excessive force. As the Task Force concluded: The overuse of
investigatory stops has left a lingering, negative perception of the police in communities
of color, in part because for people of color, a significant number of those stops also
73. In December 2015, the DOJ, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation
Section, and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Illinois jointly
initiated an investigation of the CPD and the accountability body charged with
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investigation was undertaken to determine whether the CPD was engaging in a pattern
or practice of unlawful conduct and, if so, what systemic deficiencies or practices within
the CPD, IPRA, and the City constituted this pattern or practice. The DOJ investigation
assessed the CPDs use of force, and addressed CPD policies, training, reporting,
74. In January 2017, the DOJ finished its investigation and released its finding
(the DOJ Findings Report). In accordance with the allegations herein, the DOJ
officers. It confirmed that such conduct is approved by the highest ranks of leadership
75. The DOJ determined that CPD officers engage in a pattern or practice of
using force, including deadly force, that is unreasonable. The agency also found that
the impact of the CPDs pattern or practice of unreasonable force fell heaviest on
76. In interviews with the DOJ, CPD officers acknowledged engaging in racial
profiling and harassment. One sergeant told the DOJ that if youre Muslim, and 18 to
24, and wearing white, yeah, Im going to stop you. Its not called profiling, its called
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77. CPD officers regularly use racially charged and abusive language. Black
youth are routinely called nigger, animal, or pieces of shit by CPD officers. These
statements were confirmed by CPD officers. One officer interviewed by the DOJ stated
that he personally has heard coworkers and supervisors refer to black individuals as
One officer recently posted two graphic photos of slain black men with the caption:
Hopefully one of these pictures will make the black lives matter activist organization
feel a whole lot better! Other CPD officers posted discriminatory remarks about
Muslims, referring to them as ragtop and stating, the only good Muslim is a fucking
dead one. Supervisors were responsible for many of these statements. A sergeant
lieutenant posted at least five anti-immigrant and anti-Latinx statements. The DOJ
79. Citizens regularly complain about the use of racially charged language by
police, but the City has taken no steps to put an end to such racist behavior. From 2011
to March 2016, the CPD complaint database contained 980 police misconduct
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including 354 complaints for use of the word nigger. Just 13 of these 980 complaints
were sustained, and only then in the face of irrefutable evidence, such as an audio or
video recording, or when the victim took extraordinary steps to document the incident.
For instance, the DOJ described one sustained complaint where an officer told a woman
at a dog park: Fuck you, you fucking nigger, you should keep your big mouth shut.
When the womans husband told the officer not speak that way to his wife, the officer
responded: Why? Because shes pregnant? I dont care if shes pregnant. Ill beat her
fuckin ass too. The husband, a police officer himself who knew how to navigate the
complaint process, reported the incident to the police, obtained witness information,
and filed a robust complaint. But this is far from the typical outcome.
80. Chicago leaders admit that racism within the CPD remains a problem:
racist policies that were enforced by police departments in this country are
b. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has also admitted to the existence of racism in the
CPD. In April 2016, Mayor Emanuel said, I don't really think you need a
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task force to know that there is racism that exists in the city of Chicago
c. In April 2016, when Superintendent Eddie Johnson was sworn in, he told
separated from the CPDs policies of excessive force. Both are mainstays of the CPDs
law enforcement program. Both significantly harm police-community relations and the
class the Plaintiffs seek to represent. As the DOJ concluded, the pattern or practice of
unreasonable force [within the CPD], coupled with the recurrence of unaddressed
racially discriminatory conduct by officers further erodes community trust and police
effectiveness.
policing, the City of Chicago exercises a policy and practice of excessive force and
physical violence that disparately impacts Black and Latinx individuals within the City.
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83. There are approximately 61,300 use of force reports in the CPD database
from 2005 and 2015. In this period, approximately 42,500 individuals were subject to
force by the CPD. Approximately 3,850 individuals are subject to force in a given year
84. Between 2010 and 2014, CPD officers shot and killed 70 peoplethe most
fatal shootings of any other police department in the top 10 most populous cities in this
country.
85. After its year-long investigation, the DOJ determined that CPD officers
of the Constitution with frequency, and that unconstitutional force has been historically
tolerated by CPD.
86. Based on its review of complaints, the DOJ determined that uses of force
by the CPD were not aberrational. Instead, our holistic review of this information,
other systems, give us reasonable cause to believe that the unreasonable force we
87. The DOJ found that the pattern and practice of unreasonable force most
impacted the South and West Sides of the City, and predominantly Black and Latinx
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neighborhoods: Raw statistics show that CPD uses force almost ten times more often
against [Black people] than against whites. As a result, residents in black neighborhoods
suffer more of the harms caused by breakdowns in uses of force, training, supervision,
policing, so too do CPD authorities acknowledge the Departments policy and practice
of using excessive force. In 2016, Eugene Williams, a 36-year veteran of the CPD and
one of the candidates the Chicago Police Board recommended to replace former
Superintendent Garry McCarthy, said, I believe that the Chicago Police Department
and law enforcement in general have been steeped in a warrior mentality (kicking
butts and taking names) for much too long. Collectively, we have been slow if not
regularly shooting at fleeing suspects who pose no immediate threat to officers or the
public. The DOJ investigation found that the act of fleeing alone was sufficient to
several incidents where police shot and killed fleeing, unarmed suspects in the back.
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90. These occurrences were caused in part by the CPDs failure to institute a
foot pursuit policy or take corrective action concerning such violence. As the DOJ
investigation stated, this puts officers and the public in danger and results in
91. The CPDs pattern or practice of unreasonable force also includes firing at
vehicles without justification, despite the fact that this practice is inherently dangerous
and almost always counterproductive. Although the CPD has a policy that prohibits
firing at or into a moving vehicle when the vehicle is the only force used against the
sworn member or another person, the policy has not been enforced.
92. CPD officers lack discipline when discharging their weapons. Officers
often disregard innocent bystanders when shooting guns and Tasers. The DOJ noted
that, in one incident, officers fired 45 rounds at a man during a foot pursuit. The suspect
was shot, and dozens of bullets were also fired into the residential neighborhood where
the pursuit occurred. Officers also regularly fire their weapon simply because other
officers do so, without being able to articulate any independent reason that may justify
93. CPD officers systematically rely upon a stop technique called a jump
approach a street corner or group of individuals, jump out, and rapidly approach, often
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with guns drawn. The practice generally causes one or more of the targets to flee from
the scene. Officers then pursue the fleeing person, often with one officer tasked with
chasing him or her on foot, thus increasing the risk of a serious or deadly force incident.
The jump out technique is especially problematic when used by CPD tactical or other
specialized units using plainclothes officers and unmarked vehicles, which can make it
difficult for community members to identify the individuals as police officers. Such
procedures directly contribute to the CPDs policy and practice of excessive force.
94. The DOJ determined that CPD officers regularly make tactical decisions
that result in avoidable uses of force. For example, CPD officers frequently fail to await
backup or otherwise inject themselves into high-risk situations, even where immediate
including box-in techniques, which enhance the risk of physical harm to both officers
95. The CPDs pattern or practice of unreasonable force also includes the
fact that they can inflict significant harm and pain on the individual. They are regularly
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employed against people who are only passively resisting or against individuals
suspected of minor, non-violent crimes. The DOJ reported that CPD officers used Tasers
against a man suspected of urinating in public, a man suspected of petty theft, and a
97. The DOJ investigation delineated clear omissions in the CPD policy
governing Taser use. Under that policy, officers believed they were entitled to use
encounters:
98. The CPDs written Taser policy teaches its officers that they may use
Tasers against individuals who are simply walking away and do not pose any
immediate threat of physical harm to anyone. Though CPD revised its Taser policy in
May 2017, these deficiencies remain unaddressed. The May 2017 policy states that
officers are authorized to use Tasers against active resisters and the policy defines an
active resister as a subject who is attempting to avoid apprehension and who fails to
99. The DOJ also reported the systematic use of other forms of excessive force
by the CPD, including unlawful baton use, hand strikes and punches,
takedown/emergency handcuffing, wrist locks, arm bars, and knee strikes, all
utilized for the purpose of exerting physical control and often without lawful cause.
100. CPD officers, as a matter of policy and practice, use excessive, less-than-
lethal force on Black and Latinx children and teenagers, including of the kind outlined
and disproportionately use force on children for non-criminal conduct and minor
101. Force is also used against children in retaliation. In one incident, the DOJ
found that an officer confronted teenage boys who had been playing basketball on his
property by pointing his gun at them, using profanity, and threatening to put their
heads through a wall and to blow up their homes. The boys were forced to life face-
down and were handcuffed together, scraping their knees and wrists.
102. The findings in the DOJ Report about the CPDs policy and practice of
using excessive force are reinforced by complaint data and citizen beliefs, as published
in the Task Force Report. As the Reported noted: Children in some areas of the City are
not only being raised in high-crime environments, but they are also being mistreated by
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those who have sworn to protect and serve them. Throughout our community
engagement efforts, including during our youth panels, we heard story after story of
103. The CPD, as a matter of pattern and practice, relies upon overly
tensions, and lead to excessive force. The CPD also fails to de-escalate encounters when
which officers stop individuals for low-level violations, officers repeatedly use the most
even where individuals do not present a threat to the officers or to other bystanders.
105. Even where some use of force may be justified, officers, as a matter of
106. The DOJ observed this trend of escalation in shootings, finding that CPD
in avoidable uses of force and resulting harm, including deaths. The DOJ also
reported that CPD officers regularly use retaliatory force against people who object to
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107. In one incident recorded by the DOJ, officers forcibly brought a man to the
ground because he stiffened and locked his arms while they were arresting him for
walking his dog without a leash and refusing to present identification. Officers
provided no justification for the level of force they used. They failed to explain why
they did not attempt to resolve the situation with common (and common sense) de-
escalation techniques.
108. The Task Force similarly found many examples of CPD encounters with
citizens in routine situations that have gone tragically wrong. The Task Force
situations with an overaggressive and hostile demeanor, using racially charged and
abusive language.
109. Investigations conducted by IPRA over the past two years (2015 to 2017)
exemplify the CPDs pattern and practice of unnecessary escalation and intrusive police
responses. In each of these incidents, CPD officers used brutal and excessive force in
without paying for the purchase. The man started to flee from the officers
who responded to the call. For this minor offense, officers performed an
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lock. The man was subsequently arrested and taken to the hospital for
injuries.
inoperable tail light stopped at a red light. The officers pulled over the
vehicle and asked the driver to get out of the car. The driver allegedly
tried to swing his arm at the officer, at which point the officer issued
takedown. Backup officers arrived and tased the driver. The driver was
taken to the emergency room, where he was again tased. The driver
incurred serious bruising and swelling to his face and head as a result of
the incident.
damage to property. Video shows that, while he was in custody, the man
began banging on the door to the holding cell with his handcuffs. The
officer entered the holding cell and shoved the man down so hard that his
head hit the floor, causing him to suffer a head fracture and brain bleed.
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d. LOG 1080972: Videos from June 13, 2016 show a white officer on top of a
Black man, pushing him into the ground and grabbing his dreadlocks. A
crowd of Black people surrounded the white officer and the Black man,
yelling for the officer to let the Black man go. Another white officer
arrived on the scene and he screamed at the crowd to retreat. At one point
the Black mans hand reached up in the air and the second white officer
officers, telling them that they stomped the man for no reason. By that
point, the Black man was lying on the street, unmoving. He remained on
the street, as officers yelled at the individual recording on his cell phone to
put down the phone and get off the street or else youre going to jail.
walking, when an officer grabbed his hoodie from behind and threw him
to the floor. When the man attempted to get up, the officer slammed him
to the floor again and pinned him down. Another officer pointed his Taser
at the man. The officers then dragged the man on the floor and
handcuffed his arm to a bench. The man remained on the floor unmoving,
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later. The officers report states that during processing, the man became
aggressive and began swinging his fist at the officer, attempting to strike
This report is a fabrication; the video does not show the man swinging his
f. LOG 1080601: Videos from March 11, 2016 depict a man, who was filming
during the Donald Trump rally and protest, being grabbed from behind
placed his boot on the mans neck. The man was charged with resisting
the man, he swore at the officers and pulled away from the officers grip.
The officers then physically detained the man by using wrist locks and
an arm bar. The man was arrested and taken to the hospital for injuries
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h. LOG 1077477: On October 7, 2015, a Black man and an officer were having
Suddenly, the officer grabbed the man around the neck, pushed him
against the door and choked him. The video clearly shows that the Black
man was no threat to the officer and made no motions that could be
desk, walked over to the officer and the man, but failed to intervene,
standing and watching as the first officer continued to choke the man,
suspect was a Black man who started to run away from the police as they
approached him. The officers chased him, and tased him in the back.
Officers transported the man to the hospital for treatment for lacerations
on his face that he sustained after falling to the ground when he was
tased. The man also suffered bruises and a swollen eye more indicative of
a punch than a laceration sustained from a fall. The man was charged with
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j. LOG 1075692: On June 16, 2015, a Canadian man was eating at a Portillos
security who told him that he had to leave the premises because it was
closing. Other customers were also in the restaurant. The man refused to
leave and threw some cheese at the off-duty officer. At that point, the
officer attempted to arrest the man. Video then shows the officer striking
the man in the head and face, including with his right hand, which was
his face and was treated at the hospital. He was referred for examination
officer. The man was charged with aggravated battery to the officer and
110. The experiences of the named Plaintiffs, described in Part IV, similarly
exemplify the City of Chicagos escalation policies. Mr. Sharkey and Mr. Carter were
subjected to police violence despite both being engaged in conduct that did not
mandate a police response, let alone a violent one. In Mr. Campbells case, officers
escalated what was, at most, a city ordinance violation (being in the roadway during a
protest), which led to the unwarranted use of force. Both Ms. Linwood and Ms. Jackson
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were also subject to brutal police force for no reason, and solely at the behest of a club
security guard who decided he did not want to let them in the club.
111. Over and over, Chicago Police insert themselves into situations that do
not require police intervention, and use aggressive tactics that inevitably give rise to
violent outcomes.
112. The DOJ investigation noted that video evidence provided proof of the
surrounding uses of force are regularly undercut by such evidence. The Laquan
McDonald shooting was one such incident, but the DOJ investigation uncovered many
others.
113. Thus, the DOJ investigation determined that the scope of the CPDs use of
Given the large volume of reported incidents not captured on video, this
suggests that the extent of unreasonable force by CPD officers may be larger than
is possible to discern from CPDs scant force reports and force investigations
alone. Indeed, the inaccurate descriptions of events that were undercut by video
we reviewed bore striking similarities to descriptions provided by officers in
numerous cases with no video.
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114. The CPD maintains and promotes a code of silence by which police
officers are trained and required to lie or remain silent about police misconduct,
including the use of excessive force and discriminatory policing. Any officer who
deliberate effort on the part of the City leadership and CPD officials to cover up the
misconduct of other officers, in violation of CPD policy. CPD Rule 14 prohibits officers
from making false statements, but this rule is rarely enforced. Instead, officers know not
116. Police officers are educated at the CPD about the tenets of this code of
[W]e do not break the code of silence. Blue is Blue. You stick together. If
something occurs on the street that you dont think is proper, you go with the
flow. And after that situation, if you have an issue with that officer or what
happened, you can confront them. If you dont feel comfortable working with
them anymore, you can go to the watch commander and request a new partner.
But you never break the code of silence.
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117. In Obrycka v. City of Chicago et al., No. 07-cv-2372 (N.D. Ill.), a federal jury
found that, as of February 2007, the City of Chicago had a widespread custom and/or
practice of failing to investigate and/or discipline its officers and/or code of silence.
Chicago aldermen, Mayor Emanuel acknowledged that Chicago Police use a code of
119. In December 2016, then-president of the police union, Dean Angelo, stated
in an interview with the media that theres a code of silence everywhere, everybody
120. In April 2016, the Task Force found that the code of silence is
institutionalized and reinforced by CPD rules and policies that are also baked into the
labor agreements between the various police unions and the City.
from corruption in the CPD Narcotics Unit, including by CPD Sergeant Watts, lawyers
for the City admitted that Chicago Police observe a code of silence,
122. The DOJ investigation confirmed that the code of silence pervades the
CPD: City, police officers and leadership within CPD and its police officer union
acknowledge that a code of silence among Chicago police officers exists, extending to
lying and affirmative efforts to conceal evidence. One CPD sergeant informed DOJ
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they are dead on the street. The code of silence extends, as the DOJ found, to sergeants
and other supervisors who take affirmative actions to cover up the misconduct of their
subordinates.
123. The DOJ determined that the code is strong enough to incite officers to
lie even when they have little to lose by telling the truth. This is because officers do
124. The CPD maintains a policy, practice, and custom of failing to discipline,
supervise, monitor, and control its officers, including the Defendant Officers.
Consequently, the City allows its officers to believe they can abuse and violate the
fails:
review;
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the investigation;
within the CPD, repeat offending officers, or additional measures that are
126. Instead, the City conducts biased investigations into police misconduct
complaints get sustained overallonly 1.4 percent of all closed complaints from
January 2011 through March 2016. The DOJ found that in the five years preceding its
investigation, less than 2 percent of the 30,000 total complaints of police misconduct
were sustained.
brought by people of color. Between 2011 and 2016, only 1 percent of misconduct
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complaints filed by Black individuals and 1.4 percent of complaints filed by Latinxs
resulted in at least one allegation being sustained, while 2.7 percent of complaints filed
by whites resulted in at least one allegation being sustained. Thus, complaints filed by
complaints filed by Black individuals, and nearly two times more likely to be sustained
129. The contrast is even more stark for complaints relating to excessive force.
Two percent of all allegations of excessive force involving Black complainants and only
Thus, white complainants were three times more likely than Black complainants to
have their allegations of excessive force upheld, and six times more likely than Latinx
complainants.
130. The DOJ reported that in the rare instance where a complaint of
131. For instance, even when officer discipline is initially recommended, the
findings are often overturned. In 2015, according to the Task Force Report, arbitrators
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in 73 percent of cases.
132. Given the systematic lack of discipline, CPD officers are allowed to amass
dozens of complaints without penalty. From 2007 to 2015, more than 1,500 CPD officers
acquired ten or more Complaint Registers (CRs). Sixty-five of these officers had 30 or
more CRs. These numbers do not reflect the entire disciplinary history (e.g., pre-2007) of
these officers. They also underreport the problem. While the CPD collects data on
officer performance, including complaints and lawsuits, data is often incomplete and
analysis is limited.
System and Personnel Concerns, which the Department claims are designed to identify
and address problematic or abusive officer behavior, are rarely used. The number of
officers involved in these programs dropped from 276 in 2007 to zero in 2013. In 2015,
only 13 officers were enrolled. The City employs officers who have accumulated more
than 50 misconduct complaints but who have never been enrolled in any of the CPDs
accountability for uses of force. CPD policy outlines the types of use of force incidents
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officers are supposed to enter information in a TRR justifying the use of force to
superiors. In practice, officers provide little information about uses of force in these
reports, and almost none of the detail necessary to evaluate whether the use was
appropriate. The TRR format further encourages the use of boilerplate language by
review. Although CPD policy requires a supervisor to respond to the scene and conduct
investigations of every use of force, including non-shooting uses of force, the DOJ found
investigate whether the force used in a given situation was reasonable or lawful or
137. Supervisors are not held accountable for failures to report the misconduct
consistently fail to submit the required paperwork relating to use of force incidents.
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found an officers use of force unjustified in any of the thousands of use of force reports
139. Given the lack of effective review or discipline, officers often use the same
or similar language to justify their use of force. As the DOJ determined: We saw many
question, even when an officers use of force is suspect or gives rise to a formal
complaint.
140. Overall, the boilerplate reports and omissions in required paperwork and
utter lack of supervisor investigation pertaining to officer uses of force result from the
Citys failure to provide adequate discipline, supervision, and oversight within the
CPD.
141. The Citys police accountability structures further contribute to the CPDs
code of silence.
142. The CPD has a multi-tiered system for reviewing misconduct allegations.
IPRA, which is formally external to the CPD, serves as the intake agency for all
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by the mayor and confirmed by City Council. IPRAs budget is also set by City Council.
The agency only has jurisdiction to investigate certain types of misconduct, including
weapons discharges, and deaths in custody. Thus, IPRA handles roughly 30% of officer
complaints. The majority are referred to CPDs Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA),
rule violations. BIA assigns some misconduct complaints to district commanders for
investigation. Chicago also has a Police Board made up of nine private citizens
appointed by the Mayor with the City Councils consent. The Police Board is not an
investigatory body, but finalizes CPD disciplinary decisions both by presiding over
evidentiary hearings and resolving discipline disputes between IPRA and the
Superintendent.
legitimate police abuse and immunize officers from discipline, while offering the
pretense that police misconduct is being investigated by the City. Despite their
knowledge of the widespread operation of the code of silence in the CPD, neither BIA
nor IPRA effectively disciplines officers who conceal the misconduct of other CPD
employees.
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144. The DOJ investigation determined that IPRA and BIA treat such efforts
investigate it, causing officers to believe there is not much to lose if they lie to cover up
against officers for making false statements . . . and they rarely expand their
misconduct.
145. These agencies also systematically fail to collect all available evidence in
Investigators do not review investigative records to ascertain whether officers who are
146. From 2011 to 2016, only 98 Rule 14 charges were sustained against officers.
In only one of those cases did IPRA initiate Rule 14 charges against an officer who had
willingness to ignore Rule 14 violations. Neither BIA nor IPRA pursued Rule 14 charges
against any of the officers who witnessed the shooting and wrote reports that were
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148. The City has also failed to take appropriate corrective measures or
disciplinary action against CPD officers who intimidate potential complainants and
witnesses. This includes a refusal to investigate officers who file false assault and
battery charges against the victims of, and witnesses to, police abuse.
Chicago has failed to take sufficient corrective and disciplinary action to ensure that
CPD officers do not tamper with dash- or body-cameras to conceal video and audio
the CPDs dash-cameras, the audio functionality either failed to work or had been
tampered with. Officers were found to have regularly damaged antennae, hidden
investigators rarely investigate these incidents, and the CPD lacks any policy directly
providing that officers who intentionally fail to use their body-cameras will be subject
to discipline.
150. The Chicago Police Board, too, advances the code of silence and ensures
the inadequate discipline of CPD officers. In certain casesincluding those in which the
year, or suspension of a supervisor for over 30 daysthe Police Board is responsible for
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reviewing and determining discipline. But the Police Boards review suffers from
c. the Citys failure to provide sufficient training for Board members and
d. the poor quality and untimely nature of the cases brought before the
151. The Police Boards structural deficiencies have exacerbated the Citys
failure to hold officers accountable for misconduct and have thereby contributed to the
CPDs systematic use of unreasonable force. Even absent these systemic deficiencies,
the scope of the Boards review does not include the countless cases in which officers
were incorrectly determined not to have committed the alleged misconduct and,
accordingly, fails to address the broader defects in the Citys monitoring and discipline
processes.
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152. Recent changes to the Citys accountability structures do not address the
153. In October 2016, the City passed an ordinance to replace IPRA with what
it now calls the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). But COPA, like IPRA
before it, lacks independence from City Hall. The mayor controls the selection,
appointment, and removal of the agencys chief administrator. COPA requires City
approval to retain outside counsel. COPAs jurisdiction, while expanded from that of
IPRA, does not include serious issues of police misconduct, including the ability to
154. The DOJ found that the Citys proposed reforms, including COPA, did
not sufficiently address many of the problems we discovered in the Citys deeply
flawed investigative system. COPAs serious flaws include but are not limited to: a
deep uncertainty over whether the proposed budget will support existing investigative
duties and the agencys expanded obligations, reliance on mediation for many serious
155. Most importantly, because none of the reforms address the flawed culture
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156. The DOJ concluded that the City had to implement more than a name
change to repair the broken trust that surrounds this investigative agency, particularly
since most residents remember the last time the City employed this same rebranding
strategy eight years ago when it replaced OPS with IPRA . . . . [T]he systemic and
alone.
157. Consistent with its flawed disciplinary practices described above, the City
maintains a set of investigative policies that allow officers to perpetrate excessive force
with impunity. In this way, the City has ratified the code of silence.
requiring that the name of the complainant be disclosed to the accused officer early in
the process. As the DOJ found, given the code of silence within CPD and a potential
fear of retaliation, there are valid reasons a complainant may seek to report police
159. City policy allows CPD officers to wait 24 hours before making a
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with fellow officers, police leadership, and union staff in the interim between the use of
force and reporting process. The DOJ called this procedure highly troubling, for [i]f
false or mistaken narratives justifying shootings are created during these private
for even well-trained and diligent investigators to accurately evaluate whether the
160. The DOJ confirmed that [t]he possibility of officer collusion in this setting
is more than theoretical, citing documented incidents of officer collusion in the 2014
Laquan McDonald shooting as well as in the 2016 shooting of Paul ONeal. In the
ONeal shooting, not only were rank and file officers recorded confirming with each
other that they all had the same perception of the event, but a CPD command official
161. Under City policy, investigators are prohibited from bringing Rule 14
charges based on a video unless an officer is allowed to view the video first and amend
any false or inconsistent prior statements, even if these amendments materially change
162. The City, as a matter of policy, will not investigate police misconduct
incidents that are more than five years old, absent authorization from the
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misconduct. The DOJ found this practice particularly problematic given that CPDs
fashion. As a matter of policy, the City also destroys most evidence of police
misconduct after five years. This document destruction provision prevents the CPD
will face neither sanction nor discipline for their own misconduct or for concealing the
misconduct of others. As evidence of this, in the five-year period prior to the DOJ
investigation, the City investigated 409 police shootings and found only two were
unjustified.
the Task Force, the mayor, a federal jury, and many police officerswas the driving
force behind much of the misconduct alleged in this Complaint. That code facilitated,
encouraged, and enabled the Defendant Officers to engage in abusive conduct without
discipline or intervention. They knew other officers would cover for them when they
physically abused the Plaintiffs. They also knew they would not be subject to discipline
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165. The DOJ determined that the lack of meaningful investigation into the
majority of force incidents has helped create a culture in which officers expect to use
force and not be questioned about the need for or propriety of that use. In this way,
CPDs failure to adequately review officer use of force on a regular basis has combined
with CPDs failure to properly train and supervise officers to perpetuate a pattern of
166. As a direct and proximate result of the CPDs code of silence, and
inadequate disciplinary, monitoring and supervisory structure, and the Citys failure to
address these obvious shortfalls, CPD officers, including the Defendant Officers, have
violated and continue to violate the constitutional rights of those they are sworn to
protect.
167. At all relevant times, the CPD, as a matter of policy, practice and custom,
fails to adequately train its officers, including the Defendant Officers. This deliberate
lack of training on the use of force has resulted in the wholly foreseeable and
widespread violation of peoples rights, including the rights of the Plaintiff class. It has
also resulted in the perpetuation of physical harm to individuals who have suffered
electrocution, broken bones, cuts, bruises, and even death, due to the Citys failings.
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168. The CPDs Education and Training Division provides peace officer
training for all law enforcement agencies in Illinois. Consequently, the systemic
deficiencies outlined here are replicated in training programs of police officers across
the State.
169. The DOJ investigation found that the CPD does not provide officers with
effective. This failure to train pervades all aspects of CPD training, from training of
recruits at the Academy and in the field to in-service training for experienced officers.
170. Of particularly relevance to the violations alleged here, the CPD has failed
to institute training to address the racial bias that permeates the CPD and influences the
decision-making of its officers. Chicago is famously lauded as one of most diverse cities
in the worldand also one of the most segregated along racial and ethnic lines. Yet, the
CPDs training does nothing to effectively equip CPD officers with the knowledge and
insight necessary to understand and protect communities that may look very different
from their own. CPD lacks effective training related to implicit and explicit bias,
community perceptions of the police in Chicago, and the effect of racial and ethnic
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171. Training in the CPD Academy does not instill new recruits with adequate
knowledge of constitutional policing. The Academy provides recruits with 1,000 hours
of training on various topics but pays little attention as to whether the content is being
effectively delivered or if the training matches recruits needs. The DOJ noted that
Academy training lacked detail and there was little attempt to engage recruits with the
content of the lessons. One training supervisor described Academy training as check
the box training, meaning that the emphasis is on making a record of having provided
172. Training materials are outdated and fail to integrate evolving legal
standards or departmental policies. The DOJ noted that use of force trainings for
officers relied on a video made 35 years ago, before several key Supreme Court
decisions that changed the legal standards for evaluating the reasonableness of use of
force.
173. Many recruits leave the Academy without learning key lessons needed to
ensure constitutional policing. The DOJ asked several officers to articulate when a use
of force would be justified. Only one out of six even came close to stating the proper
standard.
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174. Deficient training makes it impossible for the CPD to identify which
recruits need further training and which recruits should be dismissed from the force
the fact that Academy attrition rates are close to zero, far below the average levels at
175. Similar to training in the Academy, Field Training for recruits is also
deficient. The DOJ investigation found that the CPD Field Training Program actively
176. CPD officials interviewed by the DOJ confirm the weaknesses of Field
Training. Officials described the program as a hot mess, terrible, and simply warm
butts in seats.
177. The Field Training Program is understaffed. There are not enough Field
rapport with officers in the field. While the CPD has a goal of having 150 available
FTOs, the DOJ Findings Report estimates that the number of currently available FTOs is
between 60 and 75. This understaffing leads to placing recruits on patrols without a
FTO prior to the completion of the Field Training Program. The DOJ described this
training necessary for new officers to do their jobs safely, effectively, and lawfully.
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instructional skills are not considered when selecting new FTOs. An officers
disciplinary record will not bar an officer from being an FTO unless it resulted in a
suspension of longer than seven days in the past year or if there were three or more
suspensions in the past five years. Once FTOs are in place, they are never evaluated or
held accountable for the success or failure of their training. There is neither regular
auditing of the Field Training Program nor solicitation of feedback from recruits about
179. In-service training is similarly inadequate. After the Academy, officers are
not required to participate in any annual live training. In-service training is only offered
courses. The DOJ reported that one officer summed up the entire in-service training
program as Watch a Video. CPD supervisors also acknowledged to the DOJ that
officers do not pay attention to the video or e-learning trainings and that they were
generally ineffective.
basic skills, such as when deadly force is justified. Officers reported to the DOJ that after
they left the Academy they were never required to retrain on any basic skills:
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[I]nterviews were unanimous in their belief that the lack of continuing training has a
direct connection to the improper use of force in patrol and other field assignments.
181. In-service training also fails to teach officers about changes in technology,
reactive to the latest crisis. For example, when the CPD implemented training around
Investigatory Stop Reports in order to resolve an ACLU lawsuit, officers found the
the required forms but utterly failed to address the broader context of constitutional
policing and how to effectively and lawfully conduct stops, searches, and arrests.
183. The CPDs Education and Training Division lacks the staff and resources
to ensure that training is effective. The Division is understaffed and instructors are not
selected based on skills or qualifications. The physical space used for training is in
disrepair. Training equipment is old and breaks frequently. The expert retained by the
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184. There are deep disparities in who is targeted by the CPD under the Citys
use of force policies and practices. These statistical inequities are not academic; they are
due to explicit and implicit biases on the part of the CPD and a failed system of training,
monitoring, and accountability that encourages the excessive and discriminatory use of
force. Their result is that the Citys Black and Latinx communitiesadults and
overwhelmingly higher rates than non-Black, non- Latinx individuals in the City.
185. Racial discrepancies in use of force have increased substantially over the
last decade. The proportion of CPDs uses of force against Black people crept upward
between 2005 and 2015, even as the Black population of Chicago fell relative to other
groups.
neighborhoods on the South and West Sides of Chicago. Looking at data from 2013 to
2015, after the CPDs district realignment, of the five police districts with the highest
rates of force against Black people, four are majority-white districts. Black people are
only 1 percent of the population of the Jefferson Park district on the far Northwest Side
of Chicago, but they make up 14 percent of the CPDs use of force cases against adults
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in that district. Similarly, Black residents are just 9 percent of the population in the Near
North district, but make up nearly 60 percent of adult uses of force by the CPD.
communities with higher crime rates. Black people are also subjected to force at higher
rates in low-crime neighborhoods. The five police districts with the highest rates of
force against Blacks per resident from 2013 to 2015 include the four police districts with
188. Young Black men are particularly likely to bear the brunt of police
violence. According to 2010 census data, Black men between the ages of 20 and 34
comprise 3 percent of the population of Chicago, but were nearly 40 percent of those
subject to a CPD use of force between 2005 and 2015. On an annual basis, Black men
between the ages of 20 and 34 are subjected to force at a rate of 18 incidents per 1,000
residents. White men in the same age range, in contrast, experience force at a rate of
189. Racial disparities exist in the most serious types of CPD violence. Black
people made up 75 percent of those who were shot at by the CPD between 2005 and
2015, and Latinxs comprised 16 percent of CPD shootings. Whites were targets of only 6
percent of CPD shootings. Black people in the City of Chicago were shot at by police
more than twelve times as often as whites during the same time period.
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190. Black people in Chicago were also the subjects of more than three quarters
of all CPD Taser uses. The CPD reported using Tasers on Black people nine times more
often than they used Tasers on whites between 2005 and 2015. Latinxs were also a
center the voices and experiences of the young people most targeted by police violence
in Chicago, prepared a report for the United Nations Committee Against Torture on the
state of the CPD. It described police-driven violence in the City as endemic, and
White) CPDleaving far too many physically injured, killed, and emotionally scarred.
192. Black and Latinx children are the subjects of 97 percent of all incidents
involving police use of force against young people. The CPD has reported that 83
percent of the instances of police use of force against young people involved Black
193. All these statistics reflect the lived reality expressed time and time again
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194. In 2007, when the CPDs Special Operations Unit was disbanded, the
interim superintendent of police, Dana Starks, said the CPD would more closely keep
195. But it has repeatedly been unable and unwilling to do so. The CPDs
disciplinary apparatus has undergone multiple changes over the decades, with little
actual improvement in accountability. Each of these changes has occurred in the wake
of public outcry over the Citys abusive and discriminatory law enforcement practices.
But each set of reforms has failed to alter the deep-seated policies, practices, and culture
196. This history of unsuccessful reforms makes clear that the CPD is incapable
of policing itself.
197. The City created the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) in 1974, in
response to public concerns over CPD internal investigations of police abuse. But OPS
lacked any independence from the outset. OPS was headed by a chief administrator
who was under the police departments jurisdiction, appointed by the mayor, and
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198. OPS, under each of its leaders, lacked subpoena power, publicized little
about its investigations, and made no effort to track trends and patterns in police abuse.
police. Investigations took years, if they happened at all. OPS rarely sustained
199. Not only was OPS ineffective, it engaged in the wholesale concealment of
police abuse. Most famously, OPS participated in the cover up of the Burge scandal. It
suppressed evidence of police torture for months, while Burge remained on the force.
200. OPS also failed to hold accountable officers who engaged in quotidian
displays of abuse and misconduct. In 1999, two innocent youths, LaTanya Haggerty and
Robert Russ, were killed by police. Neither were armed. The officer who shot Russ got a
mere 15-day suspension. In 2002, Officer Jerome Finnegan, who had by that time
amassed more than 70 citizen complaints (all of which were unsustained), was accused
of beating a Chicago firefighter and threatening to put drugs on him. OPS failed to
investigate him, and continued to turn a blind eye to his misconduct until federal
professor was beaten by Officer James Chevas, an officer with more than 50 complaints
filed against him. The woman was charged with aggravated battery while OPS cleared
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Chevas of wrongdoing. A federal jury found otherwise, and held the city liable for
201. In 2007, the City established IPRA as a supposed solution to OPSs failings
and in response to a lack of public faith in the Departments ability to address police
misconduct. IPRA was implemented in the wake of a spate of police shootings and
unchecked brutality, including Chicago Police Officer Anthony Abbates violent beating
of a female bartender captured on videotape. IPRA, like OPS before it, was intended to
misconduct.
202. As the DOJ investigation found, IPRA was but a continuation of OPS. It
had a strong institutional bias and organizational culture that promoted the protection
of police.
203. IPRA, like OPS, has failed to consider individual officers prior
misconduct in investigating charges. IPRA, like OPS, has failed to investigate patterns
(including the officers who covered up the Laquan McDonald shooting), never
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recommended the termination of on-duty officers who unlawfully shot citizens, and
204. Now, in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting and cover-up and
subsequent DOJ investigation, the City has offered COPA and other reform gestures in
response to public pressure and the threat of federal oversight. But COPA has serious
flaws, as outlined above. And the City has proven that it lacks the political will to
address its pattern of excessive and discriminatory use of force, or follow through on its
promises of reform after political crisis or imminent threat of federal oversight subsides.
205. The history of the City of Chicagos response to the McDonald shooting is
206. After the shooting, the City issued a false press release and defended it as
justified. It thereafter suppressed the video footage of McDonalds death for more than
a year, despite the fact that it showed CPD Officer Van Dyke unloading 16 shots into 17-
year old McDonald including at least 14 while he lay on the ground without
cause. The City, in fact, actively opposed the public dissemination of the video. When a
Cook County judge eventually ordered its release, the video confirmed not only that the
shooting was unlawful, but that City officials, including the Superintendent of the CPD,
the Citys Law Division, and the Mayors Office, as well as officers on the scene at the
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time of the shooting, had deliberately concealed Van Dykes misconduct by issuing false
207. Yet, even after the video went public, and in the midst of widespread
protests and national scrutiny, the mayor continued to deny there were systemic
problems in CPDs use of force. Emanuel claimed McDonalds death was the act of a
bad apple, and maintained publicly that he did not support a federal investigation of
the police force. He eventually reversed course and admitted systemic problems,
including the continued existence of the police code of silence, but only in response to
public pressure and intense media scrutiny calling for independent oversight.
208. Upon the release of the 2017 DOJ Findings Report, Mayor Emanuel finally
conceded that there had been decades of complaints regarding misconduct by CPD
officers. He said that the DOJ Findings Report was a moment of truth for the city, and
209. But the City continues to maintain and enable a deep-seated culture of
denial and violence in the CPD that is resistant to reform. In recent months, with the
change in the federal administration, the Mayor has retreated from his prior
commitments. He now contends the City does not need federal court oversight, and in
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fact, the mayors aides have stated that Emanuel never sought judicial oversight of the
CPD. At the same time, newly-elected Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin
Graham, a patrol officer with the CPD, has disagreed publicly with the DOJ Findings
210. Time and again, the City has revealed that it is institutionally unable
to end its years-long practice of civil rights violations. Federal judicial intervention is
the only means by which the rights of Plaintiffs and the class they represent will be
vindicated.
federal officials have all acknowledged that the CPD engages in a pattern and practice
of unconstitutional force, and that a consent decree and federal court oversight are
212. Superintendent Eddie Johnson admitted that some of the findings in the
DOJ Report were difficult to read and that the Department need[s] to do better. He
acknowledged that he is realistic about the fact that there is much, much, much more
213. Zachary Fardon, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of
Illinois when the DOJ initiated its investigation of the CPD and released its report,
issued an Open Letter on March 13, 2017, encouraging the City to enter into a consent
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accountability within the CPD. He stated that a consent decree with an independent
monitor was the only way to eradicate the system-wide problems within the CPD.
214. Upon the conclusion of the DOJ investigation in January 2017, former U.S.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that the CPD had a pattern of
unconstitutional force, largely attributable to systemic deficiencies within CPD and the
city.
215. Christy Lopez, a former DOJ attorney who helped lead that investigation
stated in early June 2017 that she had never seen a department that screams out for a
216. Vanita Gupta, the former head of the DOJs Civil Rights Division, declared
that the City of Chicago must implement broad reforms via a consent decree overseen
by the federal courts to remedy "deep and long-standing" policing concerns in Chicago.
217. And Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has just called for
enforceable reform to the CPD, which she states requires a court-ordered consent
decree.
218. Because of the Citys intrinsic inability to reform itself, court oversight is
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219. The rights of the named Plaintiffs were violated by the Defendant Officers
as part of the CPDs pattern and practice of discriminatory policing, excessive force,
failure to train, monitor and supervise, and the pervasive code of silence, as outlined
above. As a direct result of the policies described herein, these officers were encouraged
and led to believe that they could brutalize each of the named Plaintiffs with impunity.
They knew that their fellow officers, who observed the abuse, would not report them or
otherwise intervene to stop them from harming the named Plaintiffs. The City of
Chicagos policies and practices were the moving force behind the alleged misconduct.
A. Immanuel Campbell
220. On the evening of July 9, 2016, around the intersection of Roosevelt Road
and Michigan Avenue, Mr. Campbell was engaged in a peaceful demonstration, the
goal of which was to bring attention to the topic of police misconduct in Chicago.
221. During the demonstration, Mr. Campbell and other participants were
Boylan.
222. While Mr. Campbell stood unresisting with hands at his sides, these
officers pushed him into a crowd of other officers and then to the ground. They
physically beat him. The Defendant Officers had no grounds to use force on Mr.
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Campbell. At no time did Mr. Campbell commit any crime, or assault or threaten to
223. The Defendant Officers then arrested Mr. Campbell without probable
cause to cover up the excessive force they used during the peaceful demonstration.
They handcuffed Mr. Campbell, took him to the police station, and kept him in custody
for several hours. They charged him with a city ordinance violation of obstruction of
charges were wholly unfounded. Yet, as a result, Mr. Campbell faced a sentence of up
to 364 days in jail and was forced to defend himself in a court of law.
Urbana, Illinois on July 11, 2016. He was diagnosed with and treated for multiple
contusions that he sustained during his encounter with the Defendant Officers.
225. On January 17, 2017, all charges against Mr. Campbell were dismissed in a
University of Illinois football team, was let go from the team as a result of the false
arrest.
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participates in mental health therapy sessions to deal with the trauma he suffered at the
227. Mr. Campbell was harmed by the Defendant Officers as they were acting
in accordance with the Citys policies and practices of discriminatory policing, excessive
force, inadequate discipline and training, and in furtherance of the code of silence, as
described above.
228. Mr. Campbell was subjected to unlawful arrest and excessive force in
large part because he was a Black man in the City of Chicago, and because he chose to
peaceably attend a protest against the use of police excessive force targeted at Black
individuals.
229. The location in which Mr. Campbell was abused, the South Loop area of
Downtown, is in the 1st District, which has a population that is 21 percent Black, but in
which Blacks comprise 66 percent of all adults subjected to force between 2013 and
2015. Black adults in the district were subject to force at a rate of about 6 per 1,000
residentsseven times the rate of white peoplefrom 2013 to 2015. Young Black men
were subject to force in that period at an estimated rate of 21 incidents per 1,000
residents per year. Thus, a young Black man has a roughly 19 percent chance of having
forced used on him over a ten-year span. Blacks also make up 75 percent of those
detained in formal investigatory stops in that district. From January 2016 to March 2017,
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Black adults were stopped at a rate of about 88 times per 1,000 residents, or more than
230. The incident involving Mr. Campbell took place at the corner of four
police beats (114, 123, 131 and 132). Between 2013 and April 2016, 202 individuals were
subject to force in these beats122 of them were Black. There were also nine Taser uses
in that time by the CPD, and six of them were against Black subjects.
231. The Defendant Officers who attacked Mr. Campbell have a history of
misconduct. Since joining the CPD, Defendant McGuire has been accused of
misconduct on at least 14 separate occasions and required to justify his use of force to
his superiors on at least 5 occasions; Defendant Coriell has been accused of misconduct
on at least 7 separate occasions and required to justify his use of force on at least 3
and required to justify his use of force on at least 4 occasions; and Defendant Boylan has
been accused of misconduct on at least 2 separate occasions and required to justify his
Defendants include allegations of unnecessary use of force while on duty. Yet the
Defendant Officers have directly benefited from the Citys policies and practices of
granting impunity to officers who commit misconduct. None of the Defendant Officers
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B. Rubin Carter
232. On April 8, 2017, Plaintiff Rubin Carter was visiting the West Town
neighborhood of the City of Chicago. Mr. Carter, a resident of Forest Park, Illinois, often
233. At about 11 p.m., at the corner of Rockwell Street and Chicago Avenue,
Mr. Carter was stopped by CPD Officers Miguel Villanueva and Josue A. Ortiz.
Defendants Villanueva and Ortiz shot Mr. Carter repeatedly with a Taser gun in his
stomach and chest. Defendant Ortiz continued to tase Mr. Carter as he lay on the
ground in excruciating pain. The Defendant Officers had no grounds to discharge the
Taser into Mr. Carter. At no time did Mr. Carter commit any crime, or assault or
234. After being tased, the Defendant Officers arrested Mr. Carter without
probable cause and charged him with two counts of aggravated assault on a peace
235. Defendant Officers Villanueva and Ortiz authored police reports that
falsely stated Mr. Carter posed a physical threat to the officers. Mr. Carter posed no
such threat and was breaking no laws when the Defendant Officers repeatedly attacked
him.
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236. As a result of the Taser attack Mr. Carter suffered serious pain and an
American Hospital, where he was brought by the Defendant Officers after his false
arrest. Mr. Carter was also subjected to humiliation, public ridicule, and embarrassment
237. The charges against Mr. Carter remain pending. Despite the fact that the
Taser attack was unwarranted and the summary of the incident in Mr. Carters arrest
reports entirely fabricated, the Defendant Officers supervisors signed off on the arrest,
238. Mr. Carter was harmed by the Defendant Officers as they were acting in
accordance with the Citys policies and practices of discriminatory policing, excessive
force, and inadequate discipline and training, and in furtherance of the code of silence,
as described above.
239. Mr. Carter was stopped and tased in large part because he was a Black
man in the City of Chicago. At the time of the attack on Mr. Carter, the Defendant
Officers were deployed in Beat 1211 in the 12th district of Chicago, on the Near West
Side. Use of force data shows that Black people, who make up 18 percent of residents in
the 12th district, comprise 52 percent of the individuals subject to police force between
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2013 and 2015. Young Black men are subject to force roughly three and a half times as
often as young white men, even though there are more than twice as many white
residents of the district. Overall, young Black men have an estimated 9 percent chance
of being subject to force over a ten year period. Black people in the 12th district are also
all investigative stops, and are stopped at ten times the rate of their white peers.
240. Defendant Ortiz, who attacked Mr. Carter, has a long history of
misconduct. Since joining the CPD, he has been accused of committing misconduct,
has been required to justify his use of force to his superiors on at least 16 occasions. Yet,
Defendant Ortiz has directly benefited from the Citys policies and practices of granting
impunity to officers who commit misconduct. He has never been disciplined by the
C. Markees Sharkey
241. On October 6, 2015, Plaintiff Markees Sharkey was visiting his girlfriend
in the West Pullman neighborhood of Chicago. Mr. Sharkey is himself a resident of the
242. While Mr. Sharkey was at the residence, Defendant Officers Cade and
Morris arrived at the house and began escorting Mr. Sharkey out.
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residence. Defendant Bolin blocked Mr. Sharkeys exit from the house and started
yelling profanities at the Plaintiff. Throughout the encounter, Defendant Bolin referred
244. Defendant Bolin then handcuffed Mr. Sharkey, placed him in the back of a
marked police vehicle, and without reading him rights and without probable cause,
placed him under arrest. Defendant Officers Cade and Morris, who were also present at
the time, did nothing to intervene to prevent Defendant Bolins unlawful arrest or stop
him from making derogatory and racist comments toward Mr. Sharkey.
245. While en route to the police station at the 5th district, Defendant Bolin
pulled the police car over to the side of the street and began beating Mr. Sharkey about
the back, head, shoulders and legs with his baton. While hitting him, Defendant Bolin
cursed at Mr. Sharkey and continued making racial slurs. Defendant Bolin had no cause
246. Defendant Cade and Morris, who were following Defendant Bolin in a
separate police car, pulled over and told Defendant Bolin to stop abusing Mr. Sharkey.
Yet neither Defendant Cade nor Defendant Morris reported Defendant Bolins
misconduct.
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247. At the 5th district police station, Mr. Sharkey was placed in lockup and
charged with aggravated assault to a police officer. The charges were unfounded.
Defendant Bolin trumped them up to conceal his own excessive use of force against Mr.
Sharkey.
248. As a result of Defendant Bolins abuse, Mr. Sharkey suffered physical pain
and bruising all over his body. Mr. Sharkey was also subjected to humiliation, public
249. The charges against Mr. Sharkey remain pending. A teenager at the time
of the incident, Mr. Sharkey has now been incarcerated for almost a year and been
gatherings and holidays with his family. Due to his young age, he is incarcerated in
protective custody at the Cook County Jail under highly restrictive conditions.
250. Despite the fact that the baton attack was unwarranted, and the summary
of the incident in Mr. Sharkeys arrest reports fabricated, the Defendant Officers
supervisors signed off on the arrest, approving the officers misconduct. Defendants
251. Mr. Sharkey was harmed by the Defendant Officers as they were acting in
accordance with the Citys policies and practices of discriminatory policing, excessive
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force, and inadequate discipline and training, and in furtherance of the code of silence,
as described above.
252. Mr. Sharkey was arrested and beaten in large part because he was a Black
teenager in the City of Chicago. Defendant Bolin attacked Mr. Sharkey within Beat 524
of the 5th district, which is more than 95 percent Black. CPD use of force
overwhelmingly targets Black people in that district. The bordering 22nd district (which
includes Mount Greenwood, Beverly, and Morgan Park) has significant racial
disparities in force. Black people comprise 61 percent of the population in that district
but 88 percent of those subject to force by police between 2013 and 2015. A third of the
22nd districts population is white, but only 9 percent of subjects of police force are
white. Young Black men in the 22nd District were subject to more than thirteen times
more uses of force than their white peers. In the 5th District beats, there have been 686
force incidents since 2004, 97 percent of which involved Black people. This includes 51
tasings and 26 cases where police shot at someone (five since 2014). Based on CPD rates
of force, in the 5th district, young Black men have an estimated 10 percent chance of
253. Young Black men in the both the 5th and 22nd districts are also subject to
disparate rates of investigatory stops by police. In the 5th district, young Black men are
stopped approximately seven times the average rate for adults citywide; in the 22nd
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district, young Black men account for 20 times as many stops as young white men, even
though Black residents outnumber whites by a ratio of less than two to one.
254. Defendant Bolin, who attacked Mr. Sharkey, has a long history of
misconduct. Since joining the force, he has been accused of misconduct, including
excessive force, on at least 17 separate occasions, and he has been required to justify his
use of force to his superiors at least 11 times. Yet, Defendant Bolin has directly benefited
from the Citys policies and practices of granting impunity to officers who commit
misconduct. He has never been disciplined by the CPD for use of force.
D. Deonte Beckwith
255. Mr. Beckwith was falsely arrested on the evening July 16, 2016 in the
256. Defendant Officers Jonas, Polson, Jung and Pena stopped Mr. Beckwith
without any probable cause to believe that he had committed a crime, as Mr. Beckwith
257. As Mr. Beckwith got out of his car with his hands up, the Defendant
Officers pulled Mr. Beckwiths hands behind his back and put him in handcuffs.
258. The Defendant Officers threw Mr. Beckwith to the ground, while he was
handcuffed.
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259. The Defendants later maliciously beat Mr. Beckwith, while he was still
serious bruising, swelling, cuts and pain to his head, face and shoulders, as well as a cut
to the side of his head that required stitches. The Officers use of force caused blood
vessels to pop in Mr. Beckwiths eye. He was treated for his injuries at the hospital.
261. In order to conceal their use of excessive force, the Defendant Officers
falsely arrested and charged Mr. Beckwith with aggravated battery of a police officer
262. Mr. Beckwith was harmed by the Defendant Officers as they were acting
in accordance with the Citys policies and practices of discriminatory policing, excessive
force, inadequate discipline and training, and in furtherance of the code of silence, as
described above.
263. Mr. Beckwith was arrested and beaten in large part because he was a
Black man in the City of Chicago. The Defendant Officers attacked him within Beat 333
of the 3rd District, which is 94 percent Black, and in which Black people comprise 97
percent of those subject to police use of force. Since 2004, 579 individualsalmost all
Blackhave been the victims of police force within Beat 333 and nearby Beats 331, 332,
and 334. In that same time period, 15 individuals were shot at and 59 were tased by the
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police. Young Black men in the 3rd District have an estimated 11 percent chance of being
264. Young Black men in the district are also subject to police stops at a
disparate rate270 stops per 1,000 residents over the 1.25 year period for which stop
investigatory stops. Young Black men in the 3rd District are stopped at roughly 7 times
265. Some of the Defendants who attacked Mr. Beckwith have long histories of
misconduct. Defendant Jung, for example, has been accused of misconduct, including
unnecessary physical contact, illegal arrest, illegal search, and failure to submit proper
reports, at least 59 times, and he has been required to justify his use of force to his
superiors on at least 27 occasions over the course of his career. Yet, Defendant Jung has
directly benefited from the Citys policies and practices of granting impunity to officers
who commit misconduct. He has never been disciplined by the CPD for use of force.
E. Chante Linwood
266. On April 3, 2016, Chante Linwood was visiting the Gold Coast
neighborhood with friends, including Plaintiff Rachel Jackson, with plans to attend a
club on Division Street. Ms. Linwood is a Chicago resident who works as a popular
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deejay, and is a mother of two young children. At the time of the incident she was
267. Ms. Linwood and her friends had plans to investigate the space at the club
for possible future deejaying opportunities. They had been told by otherscurrent DJs
at the clubto stop by, that their names would be on the clubs entrance list, and that
268. When Ms. Linwood and her friends attempted to enter the club they were
refused entrance for improper footwear. Though their names were on the list, the
security guard at the door was aggressive and told them they would never get into
the club. Ms. Linwood and her friends subsequently left the doorway of the
establishment, and stood on the adjoining public sidewalk. The security guard then told
them to get off the sidewalk, and called over officers with the CPD.
269. Since the early 2000s, the City of Chicago and its police officers have
worked in conjunction with clubs and lounges in the Downtown and Near North
districts to discourage Black and Latinx young adults from attending the entertainment
areas in those communities. In furtherance of this effort, business owners and the police
have colluded to allow bouncers to engage in racial profiling of potential guests, and to
aggressively remove Black and Latinx adults from entrances to clubs. Ms. Linwood was
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270. Ms. Linwood was then detained by Chicago Police Sergeant Lawrence
Gade Jr. and Officer John Lavorata. Without cause, the Defendant Officers performed
Street, and pulling her hair back from her head. The Defendant Officers shoved her into
the ground, and placed their knees on her back. Ms. Linwood screamed in pain during
the entire encounter. The Defendant Officers then placed handcuffs on her, and in the
process, wrenched her shoulders behind her back, causing her further pain.
shoulder pain. She was unable to lift up her arms for days after the occurrence. Her
injuries were compounded by the fact that she suffers from fibromyalgia. She was also
272. Ms. Linwood was thereafter charged with resisting arrest and disorderly
conduct. These charges were filed by the Defendant Officers to conceal their own
273. The Defendant Officers did not read Ms. Linwood her Miranda rights
when she was put under arrest. After being arrested, Ms. Linwood was taken into
police custody and kept overnight in lockup. She was repeatedly searched by CPD and
Cook County jail lockup keepers, and forced to spend the night in cold cells, without a
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coat. For hours, she was prohibited by lockup officers from calling her babysitter and
informing her she would not be home that night. A lockup officer who refused her
request to use the phone told her she had no business being at a club if she was a
mother.
274. Ms. Linwood was harmed by the Defendant Officers as they were acting
in accordance with the Citys policies and practices of discriminatory policing, excessive
force, and inadequate discipline and training, and in furtherance of the code of silence,
as described above.
275. Ms. Linwood was subjected to excessive force because she was a Black
woman in the City of Chicago. The Defendant Officers attacked her within the Near
North Side, in the 18th District, which has one of the largest racial force disparities in the
City. The population of the 18th District is 9 percent Black, but Black people comprise 59
percent of adults subject to force in the district between 2013 and 2015. The ratio of uses
of force on Black people per Black resident of the district is over 19 times the ratio for
whites. In the 18th District, Black people are subject to force at an annual rate of roughly
9 incidents per 1,000 residents (based on data from 2013 to 2015). But this rate is
substantially higher for certain groups, particularly younger men and women like Ms.
Linwood.
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276. Since 2004, there have been 1,135 individuals subjected to police force in
four beats within the 18th District (1821, 1822, 1823, and 1824); 672 of these involved
Black subjects. There were also 48 Taser uses over the period in question, 31 of which
investigatory stops in the 18th district; Black people overall were stopped about 146
times per 1,000 residents between January 2016 and March 2017, which is 46 times the
278. The Defendants who attacked Ms. Linwood have long histories of
misconduct. Over the course of his career on the force, Defendant Gade Jr., a sergeant,
has been accused of misconduct, including unnecessary physical contact, illegal arrest,
illegal search, and discriminatory verbal abuse on the basis of race or ethnicity, at least
45 times. He has been required to justify his use of force to his superiors at least 26
times. Defendant Lavorata has been accused of misconduct at least 9 times, and
required to justify his use of force on 31 separate occasions. Yet, the Defendant Officers
have directly benefited from the Citys policies and practices of granting impunity to
officers who commit misconduct. They have never been disciplined by the CPD for use
of force.
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F. Rachel Jackson
279. On April 3, 2016, Rachel Jackson was visiting the Gold Coast
neighborhood with friends, including Plaintiff Chante Linwood, with plans to attend a
club on Division Street. Ms. Jackson is a lifelong Chicago resident who works as a 3rd
grade teacher in the Chicago Public School system. She is also a poet and playwright.
280. Ms. Jackson and her friends intended to investigate the space at the club
for possible future deejaying opportunities for Ms. Linwood. They had been told by
otherscurrent DJs at the clubto stop by, that their names would be on the clubs
281. When Ms. Jackson and her friends attempted to enter the club, her friends
were refused entrance by the club security guard for improper footwear. Ms. Jackson,
who was wearing appropriate attire, was told by that same guard that her shoes may
get in but she would not. Though Ms. Jacksons and her friends names were on the
list, the security guard at the door was aggressive and told them they would never get
282. Ms. Jackson and her friends subsequently left the doorway of the
establishment, and stood on the adjoining public sidewalk. The security guard then told
them to get off the sidewalk, and called over officers with the CPD.
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283. Ms. Jackson, like Ms. Linwood, was subjected to the racist policy of
exclusion perpetuated by local club owners and the City of Chicago, as described above.
284. Ms. Jackson was then stopped and detained by Chicago Police Sergeant
Lawrence Gade Jr. and Officer John Lavorata. Upon being called over by the clubs
security guard, one of the Defendant Officers shoved Ms. Jackson out of the way, and
started to abuse Ms. Linwood, as described above. Ms. Jackson saw her friend being
slammed into the wall and the ground by the Defendant Officers, and attempted to film
the incident with her phone. At that point, one of the Defendant Officers tried to block
Ms. Jackson from filming. When Ms. Jackson continued filming the Defendant Officers
abuse, the Defendants slammed her into a wall, and handcuffed her.
285. Ms. Jackson was thereafter arrested without probable cause and charged
with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. These charges were filed by the Defendant
Officers to conceal their own misconduct in subjecting her to excessive force. The
Defendant Officers did not read Ms. Jackson her Miranda rights when they subjected
286. As a result of the Defendants actions, Ms. Jackson incurred bruising and
abrasions, and significant pain. For days after the incident, she had marks and bruises
on her wrists from where the Defendant Officers subjected her to overly tight
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handcuffing. She was also subjected to humiliation, public ridicule and embarrassment
287. After being arrested, Ms. Jackson was taken into police custody and kept
overnight in lockup. She was forced to stay in cold cells, without a coat, and she was
unable to eat or sleep. She was repeatedly searched, and taunted and harassed by CPD
288. The charges against Ms. Jackson were eventually dismissed, in a manner
indicative of innocence.
289. Ms. Jackson was harmed by the Defendant Officers as they were acting in
accordance with the Citys policies and practices of discriminatory policing, excessive
force, and inadequate discipline and training, and in furtherance of the code of silence,
as described above.
290. Ms. Jackson was subjected to excessive force because she was a Black
woman in the City of Chicago. She was harmed in the same area of the City as Ms.
Jackson, which has significant racial disparities in the CPDs uses of force and
291. The Defendants who attacked Ms. Jackson have long histories of
misconduct, as described above, but have never been disciplined, in accordance with
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292. Pursuant to Rules 23(a) and 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, the individual named Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of themselves and
a class consisting of all persons who, since June 14, 2015, have been, or in the future will
be, subjected to the CPDs use of force. Plaintiffs also seek relief on behalf of a sub-class
of the Black and Latinx members of the larger class. The Plaintiffs seek declaratory and
293. Plaintiffs and the class members are similarly situated for the purpose of
294. A class action is the only practicable means by which the named Plaintiffs
and the class members can challenge the CPDs use of force and its racially
discriminatory application. Many members of the class are without the means to retain
an attorney to represent them in a civil rights lawsuit. Moreover, many class members
who have been victimized by the CPDs unconstitutional practices do not bring
295. The class and subclass are so numerous that joinder of all members is
impractical. Plaintiffs estimate that over 3,500 people are subject to force by the CPD
each year. Between 2005 and 2015, the CPD used force on an adult approximately 42,500
times. In 30,736 cases the subject was Black, and in 6,364 cases the subject was Latinx.
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There are approximately 895,000 Black residents and 786,200 Latinx residents in the City
of Chicago, so complaints lodged against the CPD indicate that thousands of Black and
Latinx Chicagoans have experienced excessive force. The class also includes a large
number of future class members, including non-resident visitors to the City of Chicago.
296. The declaratory and injunctive relief sought is common to all members of
the Plaintiff Class and common questions of law and fact exist as to all members of the
Plaintiff Class.
297. The named Plaintiffs seek a declaration that the Defendants excessive
force practices and their racially discriminatory impact violate the constitutional law
and state law rights of the Plaintiff class members, and an injunction prohibiting the
continued use of excessive force and other racially discriminatory practices by the CPD.
298. These common legal and factual questions arise from the Defendants
routine use of excessive force and other discriminatory police practices against Black
and Latinxs and other individuals within Chicago. The Citys policies are the proximate
and direct cause of each of the violations suffered by the individual Plaintiffs and class
members. The resolution of these legal and factual issues will determine whether all
members of the Plaintiff class are entitled to the relief they seek.
299. The questions of law or fact common to the class and subclass include, but
are not limited to, the following: (i) whether the City maintains a policy or practice of
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using excessive force, in particular against Black and Latinx residents of and visitors to
Chicago; (ii) whether the City intentionally turns a blind eye to these abuses, promoting
a code of silence within the CPD and within the City at large; (iii) whether the City fails
to discipline or hold accountable the officers who, on a daily basis, physically harm
individuals in this City without just cause or right; and (iv) whether the City fails to
adequately train, supervise and monitor the CPD officers who engage in the use of
300. The named Plaintiffs' claims are typical of those of the class and subclass.
Like the other members of the class, the named Plaintiffs have been and likely will be
again victims of the CPDs use of force. The legal theories under which the named
Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief are the same or similar to those on which
all members of the class will rely, and the harms suffered by the named Plaintiffs are
301. The named Plaintiffs will fairly and adequately represent the interests of
the class and subclass. They each possess a strong personal interest in the subject matter
of the lawsuit and are represented by counsel with expertise in complex civil rights
litigation. Counsel have the legal knowledge and resources to fairly and adequately
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302. The City has acted on grounds generally applicable to the class: their
policies, practices, acts, and omissions have affected all class members. Accordingly,
herein.
sanctioned a policy, practice, and/or custom of using unreasonable force against the
305. By acting under color of state law to deprive the named Plaintiffs and
other class members of their rights under the Fourth Amendment, the City is in
violation of 42 U.S.C. 1983, which prohibits the deprivation under color of state law of
306. The CPDs constitutional abuses and violations were, and are, directly
enforced, encouraged and sanctioned by the City, including: (i) the encouragement,
sanctioning, and failure to rectify the CPDs policy and practice of unreasonable force;
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(ii) the failure to properly screen, train, and supervise CPD officers; (iii) the failure to
adequately monitor and discipline officers; and (iv) the perpetuation of a code of silence
307. The City has acted with deliberate indifference to the Fourth Amendment
rights of the named Plaintiffs and other members of the class. As a direct and proximate
result of the acts and omissions of the City, the Fourth Amendment rights of the named
308. Unless restrained by order of this Court, a real and immediate threat exists
that the Fourth Amendment rights of the named Plaintiffs and other class members will
be violated by CPD officers in the future. Moreover, because the Citys policies,
practices, and/or customs subject the named Plaintiffs and other class members to
unreasonable force often only on the basis of race and/or national origin, the named
Plaintiffs and other class members cannot alter their behavior to avoid future violations
herein.
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sanctioned a policy, practice, and/or custom of using unreasonable force against the
named Plaintiffs and members of the Plaintiff class based solely on their race and
force has been and is being conducted predominantly on Black and Latinx individuals
on the basis of racial profiling. The CPD intentionally applies a facially neutral policy in
a discriminatory manner. As a result, the CPDs policy, practice, and/or custom of using
unreasonable force violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
311. Data indicates that the CPDs unreasonable force practice has had a
discriminatory effect on Black and Latinx communities and that Black and Latinx
people are subjected to unreasonable force at far higher rates than are white similarly
situated individuals. Black, Latinx, and white people each make up approximately one-
third of the Citys population. Nevertheless, as noted above, Black people comprised 72
percent of the documented cases of force used on an adult between 2005 and 2015,
while white people comprised just over 9 percent. During that same period, Black men
between the ages of 20 and 34 experienced police force at a rate about 14 times that of
their white counterparts, while Black women in the same age range experienced police
force about 10 ten times that of their white counterparts. Likewise, Latinxs were
subjected to force at more than double the rate of whites between 2005 and 2015. As also
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noted above, from 2005 to 2015, Black people accounted for 75 percent of those shot at
by the CPD and Latinxs comprised 16 percent of police shootings, while whites
comprised 6 percent of CPD shootings. Black people were shot at by the CPD more than
twelve times as often as whites during the same time period. With respect to children in
particular, Black and Latinx youth were the subject of 83 and 14 percent respectively of
312. By its acts and omissions, the City has acted under color of state law to
deprive the named Plaintiffs and class members of their Fourteenth Amendment rights
Defendants pursued this policy precisely because of the adverse effects it has on Black
racially charged and abusive language. The individual named Plaintiffs, as well as
plaintiffs in other pending and settled cases involving allegations of excessive use of
force by the CPD, reported that officers using racially charged language during their
encounters. CPD officers routinely call Black people the n-word, and direct other racial
epithets at both Blacks and Latinxs, including monkey, animal, and savage.
Citizens regularly complain about the use of such language by the CPD. As noted
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above, for the period from 2011 to March 2016, the CPD complaint database contained
980 police misconduct complaints coded as discriminatory verbal abuse on the basis of
race or ethnicity354 of these complaints were for the use of the n-word. CPD officers
also regularly express their discriminatory views on social media, including posting
315. The City was and remains deliberately indifferent to the unconstitutional
acts committed by CPD officers through their use of unreasonable force. Subordinates
of the City have carried out this policy at least in part because of the adverse effects it
has had on Black and Latinx individuals, and a reasonable inference can be drawn that
supervisors have intended those effects to occur. Despite frequent notice of racial
disparities in the use of unreasonable force, most recently in the January 2017 DOJ
Findings Report, the Citys policies and practices concerning use of force remain
discipline officers for proven violations. The senior officials themselves have also
participated in these violations. These factors show a deliberate indifference on the part
of the City over the unlawful consequences of the CPDs use of unreasonable force.
316. The CPDs constitutional abuses were and are directly and proximately
encouraged, and sanctioned by the City, including: (a) the encouragement, sanctioning,
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and failure to rectify the CPDs policy and practice of unreasonable force; (b) the failure
to properly screen, train, and supervise CPD officers; (c) the failure to adequately
monitor and discipline officers; and (d) the perpetuation of a code of silence within the
317. Unless restrained by order of this Court, a real and immediate threat exists
that the Fourteenth Amendment rights of the named Plaintiffs and other class members
will be violated by CPD officers in the future. Moreover, because the Citys policies,
practices, and/or customs subject the named Plaintiffs and other class members to
unreasonable force often only on the basis of race and/or national origin, the named
Plaintiffs and other class members cannot alter their behavior to avoid future violations
318. As a direct and proximate result of the aforesaid acts and omissions of the
City of Chicago, the Fourteenth Amendment rights of the named Plaintiffs and class
herein.
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320. The criteria and methods that the City of Chicago applies with respect to
the use of force, including those relating to training, monitoring, supervising, and
disciplining such use, has resulted in the unreasonable use of force by CPD officers
against Black and Latinx people, and a code of silence that insulates and perpetuates
and methods of administering force that create a disparate impact on Black and Latinx
people, in violation of the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2013, section 5(a)(2).
herein.
and excessive force, without legal cause, in violation of the Fourth Amendment,
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Plaintiffs Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure,
325. The misconduct described in this Count was objectively unreasonable and
was undertaken intentionally, with malice and knowing disregard for Plaintiffs clearly
326. The actions of the Defendants were the direct and proximate cause of the
violations of Plaintiffs Fourth Amendment rights, bodily injury, pain, suffering, mental
distress, anguish, humiliation, loss of liberty, loss of income, and legal expenses, as set
herein.
328. Each of the Defendants, acting in concert with other known and unknown
unlawful means.
329. Each of the Defendants took concrete steps to enter into an agreement to
unlawfully use force on, detain, and arrest the Plaintiffs, knowing they lacked probable
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cause to do so, and for the purpose of violating Plaintiffs Fourth and Fourteenth
Amendment rights.
specific overt acts, misusing their police powers for the purpose of violating Plaintiffs
rights. They accomplished this goal by using excessive force to unlawfully effect the
Plaintiffs arrests, fabricating evidence against the Plaintiffs, and approving trumped up
331. Each individual Defendant is therefore liable for the violation of Plaintiffs
suffered damages, including bodily injury, pain, suffering mental distress, anguish,
humiliation, loss of income, and legal expenses, as set forth more fully above.
herein.
334. During the events described above, the individual Defendant Officers
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under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, even though they had the opportunity
335. The misconduct described in this Count was objectively unreasonable and
was undertaken intentionally, with malice and knowing disregard for Plaintiffs clearly
Plaintiffs suffered damages, including bodily injury, pain, suffering, mental distress,
anguish, humiliation, loss of liberty, loss of income, and legal expenses, as set forth
herein.
338. The individual Defendant Officers, acting in concert with other known
339. Each of the individual Defendant Officers took concrete steps to enter into
an agreement to unlawfully use force on, detain, and arrest the Plaintiffs, knowing they
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lacked probable cause to do so, and for the purpose of violating Plaintiffs Fourth and
340. The individual Defendant Officers committed unlawful overt acts and
341. The individual Defendant Officers acted with malice, willfulness, and
342. Each individual Defendant is therefore liable for the violation of Plaintiffs
misconduct.
herein.
345. The individual Defendant Officers conduct described above was extreme
and outrageous. The Defendants' actions were rooted in an abuse of power or authority.
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346. Plaintiffs suffered and continue to suffer emotional distress as a direct and
herein.
348. Defendant Officers Coriell, Boylan, and Ostrowski pressed charges against
Defendants made statements to prosecutors with the intent of exerting influence, and to
349. Defendant Officers Gade Jr. and Lavorata pressed charges against Rachel
Jackson, knowing them to be without genuine cause. The Defendants made statements
to prosecutors with the intent of exerting influence, and to institute and continue the
improperly subjected to judicial proceedings for which there was no probable cause.
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the Plaintiffs alleged culpability were made with knowledge that said statements were
false. They Defendants fabricated police reports so as to bring charges against the
Plaintiffs.
352. The misconduct in this Count was undertaken intentionally, with malice,
354. In July 2016, the prosecution was terminated in Plaintiff Jacksons favor,
and Jackson sustained, and continue to sustain, injuries, including emotional distress.
herein.
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357. In committing the acts alleged in this Complaint, each of the individual
Defendant Officers were members of, and agents of, the CPD, acting at all relevant
358. Defendant City of Chicago is liable as principal for all torts in violation of
herein.
360. In Illinois, pursuant to 735 ILCS 10/9-102, public entities are directed to
pay any tort judgment for compensatory damages for which employees are liable
361. The individual Defendant Officers acted within the scope of their
of Chicago is liable as their employer for any resulting damages or award of attorneys
fees.
Plaintiffs Black Lives Matter Chicago, Blocks Together, Brighton Park Neighborhood
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Council, Justice For Families, Network 49, Womens All Points Bulletin, and 411
Movement for Pierre Loury, on behalf of themselves and the putative class they seek to
represent, request that this Court grant the following class-based relief:
a. Issue an Order certifying this case as a class action pursuant to Federal Rules
b. Issue a class-wide judgment declaring that the policies, practices, and conduct
of the City of Chicago, through the CPD and as described in this Complaint,
constitute violations of the rights of Plaintiffs and the class they represent
ii) Enjoining the CPD from its policy and practice of using force in a
racially discriminatory manner;
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d. Issue an order and judgment granting reasonable attorneys fees and costs,
e. Grant such other relief as this Court deems just and proper.
The individual named Plaintiffs also seek compensatory damages against all
Defendants for the violations alleged in this Complaint. They similarly seek punitive
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132