Laughter is best medicine for family, activists gathering 10 years after shooting that killed Rekia Boyd

CHICAGO (CBS) -- On this day in 2012, Rekia Boyd was shot and killed by an off-duty Chicago Police officer – and the officer who pulled the trigger went on to be acquitted in a controversial ruling.

On Monday night, Boyd's friends and family gathered tor remember her Boyd and the legacy her case left behind. But instead of coming together to mourn, Boyd's family and community activists gathered to smile and laugh.

"Laughter is medicine, man," said Boyd's brother, Martinez Sutton.

While Monday night was all about laughs, over the years, there has been no shortage of tears for Martinez Sutton—

"It's tough, "Sutton said. "You know, you miss that physical presence."

On March 21, 2012, Boyd and a group of people were hanging out in Douglass Park when Servin, angry about noise they were making, got into a shouting match with a man in the group. Prosecutors have said Servin, who was off-duty at the time, fired five shots over his shoulder from inside his car, striking Boyd in the head, and grazing another person in the group.

Servin claimed he opened fire because he thought he saw someone coming at him with a gun, although investigators found only a cellphone at the scene.

"Who would think that being loud would get you killed?" said Rebecca Cook of the Chicago Westside Branch NAACP.

In 2015, Servin was acquitted of was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct, and reckless discharge of a firearm.

Then-police Supt. Garry McCarthy moved to fire Servin later that year – just one day before Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald – after previously denouncing the criminal case against the officer as "a safety hazard." McCarthy had said he was worried the charges might cause other officers to hesitate before opening fire when they are in a life-threatening situation.

Servin resigned one day before his disciplinary hearing before the Chicago Police Board in May 2016.

Organizers of the event Monday night said the loss of Boyd paved the way for officer accountability in Chicago

"The way the judge determined that he would be acquainted led to Laquan's murderer being charged with murder," said Crista Noel of Women's All Point Bulletin.

And 10 years later, it's clear that sometimes laughter really is the best medicine.