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CHICAGO - The family of a 41-year-old man killed by Chicago police in Humboldt Park is suing the city and the officer who fatally shot him, alleging the officer escalated the encounter and used deadly force when Jordan was trapped inside his vehicle.
Family of man killed by Chicago police files lawsuit
The backstory:
Christine Thompkins, the mother of Derek Jordan, filed the wrongful-death lawsuit Friday in Cook County Circuit Court against the City of Chicago and Officer Max Walzer. The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of the court's jurisdictional minimum.
Jordan was killed March 9 after officers approached him while he was in a vehicle near Homan Avenue and Chicago Avenue. Police said Jordan was wanted in connection with a shooting that happened earlier that day.
The lawsuit offers a different account of the encounter than the police version of events, alleging that officers in an unmarked vehicle suddenly crossed into oncoming traffic and approached Jordan while wearing street clothes. The complaint says Jordan, confronted by what he perceived to be armed individuals, drove away before eventually entering an alley near Homan Avenue.
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According to the lawsuit, Jordan became trapped in the alley by a CTA bus, parked vehicles and police vehicles. The complaint alleges an unmarked police vehicle then struck Jordan's car from behind, effectively pinning it between the police vehicle and the bus.
Additional officers arrived and positioned squad cars around Jordan's vehicle, according to the lawsuit. It alleges Walzer stopped his squad car in a way that blocked Jordan from leaving the alley and then approached the vehicle with his gun drawn.
The lawsuit alleges Walzer repeatedly threatened Jordan.
According to the complaint, Walzer screamed, "GET OUT OF THE F***ING CAR! I WILL F***ING SHOOT YOU!" as he stood next to Jordan's vehicle with his gun drawn. The lawsuit further alleges Walzer repeatedly yelled that he would kill Jordan as Jordan attempted to maneuver his vehicle.
The complaint says Jordan did not display a weapon, point a weapon at officers or make verbal threats before he attempted to maneuver his vehicle away from Walzer.
Walzer fired six shots through the passenger-side window of Jordan's vehicle as Jordan tried to move away. Jordan was struck by the gunfire and died from his wounds.
Attorneys for Jordan's estate allege that, at the time of the shooting, his vehicle's wheels were pointed away from Walzer and the car was blocked by the CTA bus and the police vehicle behind it.
Derek Jordan | Romanucci & Blandin
The lawsuit argues Walzer had no reasonable belief that his life or anyone else's life was in immediate danger and says he was at the scene for about 20 seconds before firing his weapon. It accuses him of failing to de-escalate the situation and using deadly force when it was not necessary.
The estate's lawsuit accuses both Walzer and the city of willful and wanton conduct. Among the allegations are that Walzer used excessive and unreasonable force, failed to use de-escalation techniques, failed to consider less dangerous alternatives and fired multiple times without properly assessing the perceived threat. Walzer was relieved of his police powers after the shooting. He was reassigned to CPD's Alternate Response Section.
The complaint argues that Jordan, who grew up on Chicago's West Side, would have had a reasonable and foreseeable fear of police encounters based on that history.
What's next:
A court date is scheduled for Oct. 1, according to the filing.
The Source: The information in this article came from a criminal complaint filed in the Cook County Circuit Court and previous Fox Chicago reporting.