Jury awards $5.1 million to family of man killed by Chicago police

His daughter says she still misses him every day.

Now, a Cook County jury has ordered the city of Chicago to pay Gary Smith's family more than $5 million dollars.

Smith was shot to death by police in 2014.

"They covered things up. My brother and I are so grateful that the jury saw through the lies,” said daughter Dasha Davis.

It was Mother’s Day 2014, and 37-year-old Smith was among a group of about 15 people hanging out in the Austin neighborhood when a police car suddenly pulled up.

The group quickly dispersed, but police say they saw Smith with a gun and shots were fired.

Smith was struck multiple times and died. But family members and witnesses say Smith did not have a gun and actually raised his empty hands above his head when he was shot.

A gun was later recovered by police, but his family's lawyers argue it was planted.

"There was not an adequate chain of custody. No hard evidence of the gun until it appears in a picture taken by the forensic team in a trunk three hours later,” said attorney Irene Dymkar.

The family sued Chicago police and late Thursday night, a jury awarded them $5.1 million dollars.

"The police officers, their story just didn't hold up under cross examination,” said attorney Torri Hamilton.

In a statement, a spokesman for the city's law department called the verdict: "disappointing...we are evaluating our options."...which may include an appeal.

And the union that represents police said, "far from being an example of justice, this case only serves as another example that the Cook County justice system is on life support."

The police oversight agency at the time ruled the shooting justified, and the officers involved remain on the street.

"Bringing my father back, it will never happen. But we are thankful the jury seen the truth and we have justice,” Davis said.