Chicago City Council committee scraps vote on settlement for Dexter Reed's family in controversial CPD shooting
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago City Council Finance Committee was ready Monday to battle over a controversial settlement for the family of Dexter Reed, who was killed by Chicago police officers last year in a shootout following a traffic stop on the West Side.
But the vote was scrapped at the last minute.
"Totally shocked me. I don't know what happened," said Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th). "I'm guessing they didn't have the votes."
It was March 21 of last year when five Chicago Police officers in plain clothes and tactical gear pulled over Reed in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand Street in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood, for what they said was a seat belt violation.
The traffic stop spiraled out of control when Reed opened fire on police — hitting an officer in his forearm.
Officers then returned fire — shooting Reed's vehicle 96 times in 41 seconds, an investigation determined.
Reed would die at the scene, and police body cam video of the altercation would garner national attention.
It led to his family filing a civil rights lawsuit against the city, claiming that the officers unlawfully stopped Reed among other things they did leading up to the deadly encounter.
Reed's family said his stop was part of a CPD pattern of unjustified, racially discriminatory traffic stops.
Months after the shooting, city attorneys offered a different explanation for the traffic stop, claiming in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that "officers lawfully stopped Dexter Reed for driving a vehicle with dark tinted windows."
Reed's family had called for the officers involved in the shooting to face criminal charges. The four officers who shot Reed were placed on administrative duty after the shooting, but police Supt. Larry Snelling rejected Civilian Office of Police Accountability Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten's request that they also be relieved of their police powers until the investigation is complete.
COPA has yet to announce any findings in its investigation.
Supporters of the settlement said the traffic stop itself was illegal, so none of this should have happened. Opponents said the city shouldn't pay out because video shows Reed fired at officers first.
Reed's family declined to comment Monday through their attorney, Andrew Stroth. He said they plan to speak after a vote is taken on the settlement.
Supporters of the settlement argue that litigation could cost the city four or five times as much as settling.
In a July federal court hearing, the judge overseeing this case said, "I think it could be in the interest — everyone's best interest, really — to try and see what you can do right now," when referencing settlement negotiations.
"If it has already been recommended for the settlement with outside litigation, then I think it's irresponsible to continue to run up a legal tab to prove political points," said Ald. William Hall (6th).
But some aldermen maintain that they can't get past the fact that Reed shot and wounded a police officer before officers shot him.
"He shot first, but yet, we're giving him a million and a quarter dollars," said Sposato.
Ald. Matthew O'Shea (19th) said he would vote no on the settlement, and said it "opens up the floodgates."
"I think this is a case worth fighting," said O'Shea. "Dexter Reed fired at Chicago Police officers striking a police officer. He put himself in harm's way."
The proposed 1.25 million dollar settlement would include "non-monetary relief" that would set new restrictions on traffic stops for the Chicago Police Department.
The $1.25 million settlement agreement also would include "non-monetary relief" that would set new restrictions on traffic stops for the Chicago Police Department, sources said.
"I think that to have Black men targeted — Black men pulled over for speculations — is not good policing," said Ald. Hall.
CBS News Chicago Legal analyst Irv Miller said Sunday that while the traffic stop was questionable, the facts are clear.
"Yeah, it was probably a bad situation, but that doesn't justify the reward," Miller said. "The shooting, the killing would justify it if the police were wrong in shooting their weapons at the time. But how could you say they were wrong when the guy fired first?"
There was no word late Monday on when the settlement could come up for a vote.
