{"id":21771,"date":"2024-04-30T07:00:26","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T07:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=771970"},"modified":"2024-04-30T07:00:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T07:00:26","slug":"family-of-chicago-man-killed-in-police-shooting-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2024\/04\/30\/family-of-chicago-man-killed-in-police-shooting-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Family of Chicago Man Killed in Police Shooting Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-lawsuits-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/midwest\/2024\/04\/30\/771970.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/midwest\/2024\/04\/30\/771970.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 The family of a Chicago man killed when plainclothes police officers fired their guns <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/dexter-reed-chicago-police-shooting-0529419b830040e41bff495f1b8f0313\">nearly 100 times<\/a> during a traffic stop filed a wrongful death lawsuit last week, accusing the department of \u201cbrutally violent\u201d policing tactics.<\/p>\n<p>The 81-page federal complaint alleges the officers violated multiple laws and police department policies during the \u201cpredatory, violent, unlawful traffic stop\u201d on March 21 that left 26-year-old Dexter Reed dead.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-topics=\"law-enforcement,lawsuits\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>A police oversight agency released videos and documents this month, and has said Reed fired at the officers first. The footage <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/police-shooting-chicago-officers-investigation-ca147a5ea386e70190f23bd6912445f0\">raised questions<\/a> about the officers\u2019 use of force and tactical squads that use unmarked police cars. Community activists have called for the officers to be fired immediately in the killing of another young Black man. The Cook County state\u2019s attorney\u2019s office is also investigating. The five officers involved were placed on 30 days of administrative leave.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit claims the officers didn\u2019t properly identify themselves as police during the West Side traffic stop; lacked reasonable suspicion to stop Reed; escalated the situation by immediately drawing guns, blocking his vehicle and shouting profanity-laced commands; and failed to provide timely medical care as Reed lay in the street.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChicago Police Department leaders promote brutally violent, militarized policing tactics,\u201d the lawsuit alleges. \u201cThe pretextual stop of Dexter Reed, and the escalation exhibited by the offending police officers, created an environment that directly resulted in his death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Police have said little about the shooting that left <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/police-shooting-chicago-officer-shot-suspect-killed-7f1772fb53322516909974fab1b9ff69\">one officer injured<\/a>, initially noting an \u201cexchange of gun fire.\u201d The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates police shootings, said this month that five members of a district tactical unit pulled Reed\u2019s vehicle over, purportedly because he wasn\u2019t wearing a seatbelt.<\/p>\n<p>According to their early findings, Reed fired first. Then officers returned fire, shooting 96 times in 41 seconds, according to COPA. Reed was <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/police-shooting-chicago-officer-shot-suspect-killed-7f1772fb53322516909974fab1b9ff69\">pronounced dead<\/a> at a hospital.<\/p>\n<p>The officers were part of a district tactical unit who often work in plainclothes and are sent to areas with high crime patterns, according to Chicago police. The lawsuit alleges those teams are historically problematic and \u201chave intentionally preyed on Chicago\u2019s young Black men in divested and low-income neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-topics=\"law-enforcement,lawsuits\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>Police Superintendent Larry Snelling disbanded a similar citywide unit earlier this year, while <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/tyre-nichols-police-scorpion-unit-cd977af56806aedf5074d432172a4bc5\">elite units<\/a> of plainclothes officers have faced scrutiny elsewhere in the country.<\/p>\n<p>The suit, which does not mention investigators\u2019 finding that Reed shot first, names the city of Chicago, the police department and the five officers involved.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago police and the city declined comment Wednesday, noting the pending litigation. John Catanzara, president of the Chicago police officers\u2019 union, said he would encourage the officers to countersue.<\/p>\n<p>Reed\u2019s family is seeking a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages.<\/p>\n<p>Reed\u2019s mother, Nicole Banks, said at a news conference Wednesday outside the West Side police district where the officers work that she hasn\u2019t been able to sleep since the shooting. She said she watched videos of the shooting repeatedly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey executed him,\u201d she said, breaking down in tears. \u201cI\u2019m going to try and try and try to survive. I am so hurt that they did my son like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Family members remembered Reed, a former high school and college basketball player with ambitions of being a sportscaster, as a kind, caring person.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Reed was shot during a \u201cfamily altercation\u201d that caused severe injuries and required extensive rehabilitation, according to the family\u2019s attorney, Andrew M. Stroth.<\/p>\n<p>After that, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which affected his ability \u201cto work, process information and to communicate\u201d and influenced how he responded to police, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Police records show, Reed was also facing felony gun charges from a July 2023 arrest when he was killed. Stroth declined to discuss the gun charges, calling them irrelevant to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>He said the family wants to ensure the police department better complies with a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/e4314aadbc4e4dd8a529cf2cf8bdc0de\">court-supervised reform plan.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis family has urgency because Dexter Reed is not coming back,\u201d Stroth said. \u201cWe can certainly save others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>COPA was <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/general-news-64bf056f4b9a40dfbe92c9184c66c263\">created in 2016<\/a> after the city was forced to release dashcam video of then-officer Jason Van Dyke fatally shooting 17-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/LaquanMcDonald\">Laquan McDonald.<\/a> Thereafter, the U.S. Justice Department found a long history of racial bias and excessive use of force by Chicago police officers, and the department has been under a court-imposed consent decree since 2019.<\/p>\n<p>The independent monitoring team overseeing the department\u2019s compliance has repeatedly found it falling behind on deadlines and specific goals.<\/p>\n<div class=\"copyright-notice lite\">Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/div>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/lawsuits\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Lawsuits<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/law-enforcement\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Law Enforcement<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"771970\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! 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