2 suits over fatal Chicago police shootings being settled for about $3M each
The city of Chicago is expected to pay more than $6.4 million to resolve two fatal police shooting lawsuits one involving an unarmed teenager and another that sparked a review of how the city's Law Department handles litigation involving serious officer misconduct.
The city's Finance Committee on Monday is scheduled to consider paying $3.4 million to end a protracted legal battle with the family of Darius Pinex, a 27-year-old father of three who was shot during a traffic stop in 2011. Under the terms, the city would pay $2.37 million to Pinex's family and more than $1 million to the lawyers for his estate, according to sources, federal court filings and city documents.
The committee also will consider paying $3 million to the mother of Cedrick Chatman, a 17-year-old whose fatal shooting in January 2013 was caught on video. He was shot in the South Shore neighborhood after officers curbed the Dodge Charger he was suspected of taking in a carjacking.
The Chatman shooting video roiled Chicago when it was released in January. The footage showed two plainclothes officers pulling up to the sedan and captured Officer Kevin Fry firing several shots when Chatman fled the car on foot carrying what turned out to be a black iPhone box.
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