Teen run over by Chicago police car during 2020 George Floyd protests to get $525,000 settlement
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A teenager who was run over by a Chicago police vehicle during the protests of George Floyd's murder in the summer of 2020 is in line for a $525,000 settlement from the city.
The City Council Finance Committee on Monday is expected to approve that payout to Astarte Washington, who suffered multiple broken bones when an unattended Chicago Police Department squad car rolled over her as she was lying on the ground on May 31, 2020.
Washington was 15 years old when she and her brother were walking home from their grandmother's house on May 31, 2020, because CTA bus service had been disrupted by the civil unrest sparked by the police killing of Floyd in Minnesota.
While on their way home, Washington and her brother "encountered a large group of protesters and looters" near 111th and Michigan, according to the lawsuit her mother filed against the city.
As officers were trying to control the crowd, officers ordered people to stop and get on the ground, and Washington complied. That's when an unattended police squad car rolled over her.
"Instead of putting the car in park, they jump out of that vehicle, the car begins to roll backward, and then you hear screaming," attorney Robert Fakhouri said last year.
Fakhouri said Washington, who at the time was an 8th grader at DuBois Elementary School, where she was acting student council president and captain of the basketball team, suffered multiple broken bones and emotional wounds as a result of being run over.
Last year, Fakhouri questioned why the city was letting the lawsuit drag on for years, saying the family offered to settle the case but never heard back.
"Instead of resolving this matter and instead of allowing this young lady to continue to live the life that she wanted to live before this incident took place, they're dragging her through this litigation process," Fakhouri said at the time.
At the time, Fakhouri said they were seeking $5 million in damages. On Monday, the Finance Committee instead will vote on a $525,000 settlement agreement.
If approved, the settlement would then go to the full City Council for consideration at its next meeting on May 22.
