Chicago approves $22M settlement to family of man killed in 2023 CPD chase crash

City to pass $22M to family of man killed in 2023 crash

City Council also just signed off on this $22 million settlement.  It’s going to the family of a man who got killed in a car crash back in 2023.

CHICAGO - The Chicago City Council signed off on a $22 million settlement on Wednesday to the family of a man killed in a 2023 car crash involving a car being chased by a CPD squad car.

What we know:

Chicago police were chasing somebody through a West Side neighborhood without sirens or emergency lights on when the individual they were chasing slammed into Angel E. Alvarez Montesinos's car. He was 25.

Montesinos died as a result of the crash. His family said the cops broke their own chase rules and sued the city in 2023.

The backstory:

A city attorney told aldermen that CPD officers Michael Spiloto and Erick Arroyo were in the squad car that pursued the fleeing car, reportedly driven by a teenage male suspect with guns. 

Spilotro did not turn on his SUV’s emergency lights and sirens during the brief pursuit. Both officers also failed to respond to dispatcher requests for information.

The officers and the suspect drove in the wrong lanes of traffic, disregarded a stop sign, and made a right turn from the left lane during the pursuit, a city attorney said. The chase lasted nearly a minute and a half before the officers slowed down.

The suspect's car, traveling 88 mph, then disregarded a red light and struck the victim’s car, which had a green light. The teenage suspect later pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and served 90 days in juvenile detention.

RELATED: Chicago alders weigh $22M payout to family of man killed in crash after CPD chase

City attorneys said the suspect car was stolen, but that was not confirmed at the time of the crash. A supervisor later testified that the officers only saw the suspect car commit a traffic violation, which would not have justified the chase per department rules.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) recommended that Spilotro be fired and Arroyo be suspended for 30 days because of their conduct, which CPD Supt. Larry Snelling agreed with.

What they're saying:

"What happened at the end of that pursuit, how it ended, is the same narrative that we see time after time again when officers disregard their training," said Lance D. Northcutt of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.. "It was a tragedy. Angel had no idea what was coming down the street at him. He had no idea that the Chicago police officer was chasing at double the speed limit. And that fleeing offender driven by a juvinile was about to strike his car."