(Chicago) Finance Committee signs off on $6.5M in police abuse settlements
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago aldermen on Monday authorized $6.5 million in settlements for two more egregious cases of police abuse but not before a three-hour debate conspicuously absent after the $5 million settlement triggered by the police shooting of Laquan McDonald.
The largest of the two settlements — $4.95 million — will go to the family of Philip Coleman. He’s the 38-year-old man who suffered from a mental breakdown, was shot 13 times with a Taser and was subsequently handcuffed and dragged from his cell by Chicago Police officers in a videotaped incident that a federal judge has ruled amounted to “brute force.”
When Coleman’s parents reportedly pleaded with the officers to take their son to a hospital because of the aggressive and bizarre behavior he was exhibiting, a sergeant told them, “We don’t do hospitals. We do jail,” Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton told aldermen.
The smaller settlement — for $1.5 million — will go to the family of Justin Cook. He’s a 29-year-old man stopped for a traffic violation in 2014 who died while in police custody. After being handcuffed, Cook suffered an ashthma attack and asked the officers for the inhaler he had in his pants pocket.
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Read more: http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/finance-committee-signs-off-on-6-5m-in-police-abuse-settlements/
4/11/2016 1:58pm
Fran Spielman
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