A new lawsuit has been filed against the City of Chicago and several of its police officers, accusing them of egregious misconduct that led to a wrongful conviction. The complaint was filed by London Weekly in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on June 7, 2024, targeting the City of Chicago and officers Ronald Watts, Alvin Jones, and Kenneth Young Jr.
London Weekly's case is rooted in a broader scandal involving former Chicago Police Sergeant Ronald Watts and his tactical team, who operated at the Ida B. Wells Homes during the 2000s. The complaint details how over 150 individuals framed by Watts' team have had their convictions vacated by the Circuit Court of Cook County. This particular lawsuit joins numerous others under coordinated pretrial proceedings established by an Executive Committee order dated July 12, 2018.
The allegations against Watts and his team are severe: robbery, extortion, excessive force, planting evidence, fabricating evidence, and manufacturing false charges. High-ranking officials within the Chicago Police Department allegedly knew about these activities but failed to intervene. Weekly claims he was arrested without probable cause on February 24, 2005. Officers fabricated a story that he was cutting drugs with a razor blade inside a vacant apartment to justify his arrest. As a result of this false narrative, Weekly felt compelled to plead guilty to a drug offense on September 20, 2005.
Weekly’s conviction was vacated on May 29, 2024, after federal prosecutors exposed the criminal enterprise run by Watts and his team. Despite credible allegations and corroborative evidence from multiple witnesses against Watts before Weekly's arrest, high-ranking officials chose to ignore these warnings. This deliberate indifference allowed Watts' gang to continue their misconduct unabated.
The lawsuit also criticizes official policies and customs within the Chicago Police Department that facilitated such misconduct. Specifically mentioned are failures in disciplining officers and maintaining a "code of silence" that discouraged officers from reporting wrongdoing. This culture reportedly enabled officers like Watts to operate with impunity for years.
Weekly seeks compensatory and punitive damages against the individual defendants for violating his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights as well as damages for malicious prosecution under Illinois law against the City of Chicago. The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Joel A. Flaxman and Kenneth N. Flaxman.
The case is presided over by Judge [Judge's Name] under Case ID: 1:24-cv-04752.