Judge rules lawsuit filed by Black driver arrested for legal gun shows plausible "widespread practice" in CPD

A judge has ruled that the federal lawsuit of a Black driver who was wrongly arrested by Chicago police can proceed, acknowledging a possible widespread pattern of discrimination against people who were wrongly charged for gun violations. 

CBS News Chicago Investigators first exposed a pattern of these types of arrests in October 2025, speaking to three Black gun owners who had valid concealed carry licenses (CCLs) when they were stopped while driving, but were arrested and charged with felonies anyway. 

One of them was Lucy Washington, a single mother of two and real estate agent who was arrested in December 2023 during a traffic stop. She was pulled over by CPD for failing to use her turn signal; within minutes, she told officers she was a gun owner with a CCL and that she had her legal weapon in her car. 

The officer told her that when police ran her information in the state database, it showed her CCL was expired. But CBS News Chicago found she had renewed it before she was stopped, which according to state law meant she was allowed to carry a gun in her car. She tried to show communication from the state confirming it on her phone, but officers arrested her anyway.

After her arrest, the courts determined Washington's CCL was valid at the time of her arrest, and her criminal case was dismissed.

Now she is suing the city of Chicago and the officers who arrested her for false arrest and illegal search and seizure, among other counts, saying they violated her 2nd Amendment right. One of the counts in Washington's federal lawsuit alleges the problem is bigger than just her case, and that these types of stops make up a pattern and practice by the police department, also called a Monell claim.

As part of that, the lawsuit names several other drivers who were arrested in similar situations, two of which were part of the CBS News Chicago Investigation initially exposing the problem. The lawsuit also includes data from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which shows Black drivers are pulled over at four times the rate as white drivers in Chicago.  

Despite the city's attempt to get Washington's case dismissed, a judge ruled in her favor on the Monell claim, indicating Washington is not alone, and that there is a widespread practice of Chicago police targeting Black drivers who have valid gun licenses. 

"Washington's allegations — when viewed as a whole — tell a plausible story of a widespread practice where City officers target Black drivers who possess firearms, pull them over, and then initiate unconstitutional seizures and arrests —conduct the City has been aware of, statistics support, and yet has been left unaddressed," the ruling from Judge Virginia Kendall said. 

"No matter how the City twists Washington's Complaint, the simple fact remains that Washington no longer relies solely on her own singular incident," the ruling also said.

In a past interview with Washington, she told CBS News Chicago how her mugshot on the internet caused her to lose clients as a realtor, and how the wrongful arrest affected her mental health.

"To this day I still feel trauma from it," she said at the time. "I feel paranoia. Every time I pass a cop car or they get behind me, my heart drops to the pit of my stomach."

While the lawsuit is not over, the judge's ruling means the case can proceed in court.

CBS News Chicago reached out to both the Chicago Police Department and the city's Law Department. Both declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.