The family of a man who was shot to death by Chicago police while attempting to flee the scene of a burglary he had helped commit should get nearly $1 million from the city, a state appeals panel has ruled.
The slain burglar’s two accomplices, who were also shot by police, but survived – and are now serving 30-year-plus prison sentences for their roles in the burglary - should be allowed to resume their own lawsuits against the city, as well, the appeals court said.
The decision, delivered on Sept. 28 by the Illinois First District Appellate Court, overturns the win the city of Chicago had secured in Cook County Circuit Court at trial.
In 2016, the estate of David Strong, along with fellow plaintiffs Leland Dudley and John W. Givens all filed lawsuits against the city, asserting police recklessly fired a barrage of 76 shots into a van in which the three men were driving.
The case centers on the actions taken by police in response to a burglary of an electronics store in the 2400 block of S. Western Ave., on Chicago’s lower West Side, on April 30, 2012.
According to the narrative in the decision, Strong, Givens and Dudley broke into the electronics store, and proceeded to begin loading stolen merchandise into a getaway van, which was also stolen.
However, an upstairs tenant called 911, and 19 Chicago Police officers responded to the scene. They surrounded the building, and repeatedly told the burglars that they knew they were in there and to “come out with your hands up.”
The burglars, however, opted to attempt to barrel their way through the police blockade, driving through a metal garage door, and nearly running over at least one police officer.
According to the narrative, the police had warning the burglars were going to attempt to make a run for it, as several officers allegedly saw the van’s headlights and taillights turn on, as they looked under the garage door, which they had managed to pry up a few inches.
However, according to the narrative, a number of police officers either didn’t hear the warnings, or didn’t heed them. When the van burst through the garage door, many of the officers opened fire on the vehicle, claiming they intended to disable the vehicle or take out the driver.
Ultimately, police fired 76 rounds into the van, and struck each of the three burglars numerous times. Strong ultimately died, and his accomplices were each sentenced to prison terms of at least 32 years, as they were found guilty of Strong's murder, along with other charges related to the incident. They continue to serve those sentences, according to the appellate decision.
However, four years after the fateful events at the electronics store, Strong’s family and his two accomplices sued the city. They claimed police had acted recklessly and wantonly in firing so many rounds into the vehicle, in excess of the force needed to subdue the otherwise unarmed fleeing burglars.
The city succeeded in persuading a judge to grant summary judgment against the surviving burglars, bouncing their claims from court.
At trial, however, a jury awarded Strong’s estate $999,999.
Strong’s family had sought more than $7 million. The jury had initially awarded Strong’s estate nearly $2 million, but reduced the verdict by $1 million, because they found, if Strong had not been committing burglary that night, he would not have been shot by police that night.
However, the city ultimately secured a total victory in the trial, after a judge granted the city’s request for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The city noted the jurors had been posed with two so-called special interrogatories from the judge, asking whether the jury believed the “officers were unjustified in the shooting and were truly … intentional or reckless.”
The jurors answered “no” on both questions, so the judge found their findings on those questions could not support the resulting verdict.
That decision prompted Strong’s family, with the surviving burglars, to appeal.
At the First District Appellate Court, a three-justice panel said the Cook County court had wrongly tossed out the verdict.
The justices said the evidence indicates both the officers and the burglars acted recklessly that night.
And they said they believed the judge too lightly tossed aside the jury’s verdict.
“… Overriding a jury’s verdict is a drastic step that affects public confidence in the jury system,” the justices wrote. “… It is the province of the jury to resolve conflicts in the evidence, pass on the credibility of witnesses, and decide what weight should be given to witnesses’ testimony.
“Given that the evidence in this case supported a finding of recklessness … we must reinstate the jury verdict of $999,999.”
The justices also ruled to reinstate the lawsuits brought by Givens and Dudley. They found the Cook County court had improperly granted the city summary judgment, by holding the men’s criminal convictions should block their claims of recklessness against the Chicago police.
“The focus of the criminal trial … was on the offenders’ conduct, not the officers’ duty to respond appropriately to a crime consistent with their training, society’s expectations, and the law,” the appellate justices wrote. “In short, the criminal case dealt with whether Givens and Dudley committed crimes against the public.
“The civil case is designed to deal with whether the public, i.e. the City via its police officers, committed wrongs against Givens and Dudley.”
The decision was authored by First District Appellate Justice Terrence Lavin. Justices Nathaniel Howse and Cynthia Cobbs concurred.
Plaintiffs have been represented by attorneys with the firms of Motherway & Napleton and the Memmen Law Firm, each of Chicago.
The city has been represented by the firm of Borkan & Scahill, of Chicago.