Chicago City Council OKs $280K settlement with activist struck by officer in 2020

CHICAGO - The Chicago City Council voted to approve a $280,000 settlement with an activist who was struck and injured by a Chicago police officer during a protest in 2020.

Miracle Boyd, then 18 years old, said she was punched in the mouth by a police officer during a protest at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park and lost a tooth as a result.

The full City Council voted 34-15 to approve the settlement.

‘I can’t get over the harm'

What we know:

The City Council’s Finance Committee voted 22-7 to approve the settlement last Monday.

At that meeting, Boyd spoke to council members directly about the incident and gave an emotional statement.

"There’s no secret what happened that day. A racist police officer approached me, punched me, knocked my tooth out," she said. "To this day, I remember it like yesterday, because for some reason, I can’t get over the harm that was caused to me and I was only 18 at the time. There’s no reason why this officer should have done that."

Miracle Boyd shows her broken teeth as she and members of Good Kids Mad City (GKMC) talk to reporters in Grant Park on July 20, 2020, in Chicago. Boyd said she was unjustly targeted and attacked by a Chicago police officer at a Christopher Columbus s

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The backstory:

The incident was captured on video by a third party across the street and shows Boyd backing up as former CPD Ofc. Nicholas Jovanovich approached her.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability noted that Jovanovich and his partner blocked Boyd’s path as she used her phone to record officers who were clashing with protesters. Jovanovich extended his left arm and knocked Boyd’s phone from her hand, "causing the phone to hit her face and knock out one of her front teeth," COPA said in its report.

COPA found that Jovanovich used excessive and unnecessary force against Boyd. 

He was also accused of filing a false police report by claiming Boyd was swinging an "unknown object" when she approached officers. He stated that he believed she "was going to batter the arresting officers or attempt to defeat the arrest."

Jovanovich told COPA investigators that Boyd was "yelling profanities and flailing her arms." He said he was in a "hypervigilant state" when he approached Boyd and was fearful of an attack.

He denied making any contact with Boyd’s face.

COPA recommended that Jovanovich be fired for violating department rules.

Jovanovich resigned from the department in April 2022.