Jury refuses to award damages to Ariel Roman, man shot by Chicago police in CTA subway station
A federal jury on Tuesday declined to award any damages to a man shot by Chicago police at a CTA station in 2020, siding with the officers' attorneys who argued they shot him in self-defense.
Ariel Roman was shot twice at the Grand Avenue station on the Red Line on Feb. 28, 2020. His lawsuit went to trial this month, and the two sides presented their closing arguments on Tuesday.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before siding with officers Melvina Bogard and Bernard Butler, the officers involved in the scuffle that ended with Bogard shooting Roman. Jurors declined to award any damages to Roman.
Roman and his attorneys left the Dirksen Federal Courthouse without commenting on the verdict. City attorneys also declined to comment on the verdict.
Bogard was charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct in the incident. She was acquitted of all charges following a bench trial in November 2022.
Bogard and Butler were trying to arrest Roman for walking between train cars when they said he started to resist.
The officers said they tried to use their stun guns at that point, but Roman was able to break free — and at that point, one of the officers shot him.
Roman was charged with resisting arrest after the incident, but the charges were later dropped.
In April 2021, then-Chicago Police Supt. David Brown moved to fire Bogard and her partner, Officer Bernard Butler, for violating multiple department policies, calling the shooting of Roman unnecessary. Bogard has since resigned from the force, and the Chicago Police Board voted in 2023 to suspend Butler for one year.
However, Bogard's defense attorney, Tim Grace, has said the officer was acting in self-defense after Roman had struggled with her and her partner for more than eight minutes after they confronted him.
Roman's attorneys are calling for better officer training.