Police Intimidation Watch: Chicago to Pay $100,000 to Photographer Beaten by Cops

[kkdanamatt]

A photographer who says he was beaten by Chicago police officers after photographing those same officers beating another man will receive a $100,000 settlement from the city, WBEZ has reported.

The Chicago-based public radio station says Chicago freelance photographer Joshua Lott was covering the May 2012 NATO summit meeting for Getty Images when he came across two police officers beating a young man with batons on a Chicago street. The man was identified in court papers as a protester.

“The officers that were beating him just weren’t happy that I was taking pictures and told me I needed to leave,” Lott told WBEZ.

Lott says he showed the officers his press credentials, and continued to take pictures as the officers kept beating the protester. The officers then approached Lott a second time, threw him to the ground, and began beating him with batons and stomping on him “the same way they were beating the kid I was photographing,” he told WBEZ.

According to court papers, police also destroyed Lott’s cameras by throwing them on the ground, and one officer took Lott’s prescription eyeglasses and stomped on them.

The police then charged Lott with reckless conduct–a misdemeanor charge that was dismissed six weeks later when the officers failed to appear in court, according to the WBEZ report.

In May 2013, Lott filed a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago against the city and several officers, including those who beat him and participated in his arrest. Lott claimed use of excessive force, unlawful detention, unreasonable search and seizure, and retaliation, in violation of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. He also claimed assault and battery, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, which are violations under Illinois state law.

He was seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the rights violations, as well as for bodily injury and medical expenses.

Lott reached a settlement agreement with the city in mid-November. The city and one of the defendants, Commander Glenn Evans, denied any wrongdoing or liability in the settlement agreement, according to WBEZ.

Evans has been the subject of several other excessive force claims, for which the city has so far paid a total of $324,999 to settle, WBEZ reports. The radio station also says Evans is scheduled for trial next week on criminal charged “for putting the barrel of his gun in a suspects mouth and a Taser in his groin while threading his life during a 2014 incident.”

The Chicago police have had a history of excessive force and police misconduct, and yesterday, the mayor of Chicago fired Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in the wake of public outrage over the death of a black teen who was shot 16 times by a white officer. The officer has been charged with first-degree murder.

 

[JoeV]

$100,000 isn't really all that much, considering the extent of his injuries, pain and suffering, and especially the violation of his rights.

Then again, Chicago's finest do have a reputation that precede them.

~Joe

 

[icebear]

...
The Chicago police have had a history of excessive force and police misconduct, and yesterday, the mayor of Chicago fired Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in the wake of public outrage over the death of a black teen who was shot 16 times by a white officer. The officer has been charged with first-degree murder.

In this context ... a NYT article mentioned the ballistic autopsy report determined that the teen (17-year-old Laquan McDonald) who was shot only 2 times standing, all other shots hit him lying already on the ground. And the charge against the office has been opened one year after the incident. And the mayor only dismissed the Chicago police chief because the discussion became a distraction and not because something was seriously wrong under his leadership...

 

[BillBingham2]

Should be triple that. My guess is the lawyers will get 30-40%. Many departments have bad eggs, have for years. Difference is not we see them thanks to the ubiquity of cell phone cameras.

I'm thinking that photographers should have body cameras too.

B2 (;->

 

[noisycheese]

Should be triple that. My guess is the lawyers will get 30-40%. Many departments have bad eggs, have for years. Difference is not we see them thanks to the ubiquity of cell phone cameras.

I'm thinking that photographers should have body cameras too.

B2 (;->

Agreed - $100k is chump change for what he was subjected to, especially when you factor out the attorney's fees which are probably 40%, his medical bills and the cost of replacing his destroyed camera equipment; $100k is probably the break even figure with no compensation for pain and suffering or for the flagrant violation of his Constitutional and civil rights.

Sounds like he should have either fired his attorney, taken his case to trial rather than settling - or both.

Then on the other hand, it would be nice if Rahm Emanuel's thugs with badges would stop beating, maiming and brutalizing people for no legitimate and lawful reason. The Brownshirt mentality of many big city cops needs to stop NOW.

 

[Jason Sprenger]

It'd be nice if the US Justice Department would do their job in these cases, but considering the White House's political ties to the Chicago Machine, don't hold yer breath.

 

[hlockwood]

Agreed - $100k is chump change for what he was subjected to, especially when you factor out the attorney's fees which are probably 40%, his medical bills and the cost of replacing his destroyed camera equipment; $100k is probably the break even figure with no compensation for pain and suffering or for the flagrant violation of his Constitutional and civil rights.

Sounds like he should have either fired his attorney, taken his case to trial rather than settling - or both.

Then on the other hand, it would be nice if Rahm Emanuel's thugs with badges would stop beating, maiming and brutalizing people for no legitimate and lawful reason. The Brownshirt mentality of many big city cops needs to stop NOW.

I could not have said it better. What a miscarriage of justice.

HFL

 

[Addy101]

In this context ... a NYT article mentioned the ballistic autopsy report determined that the teen (17-year-old Laquan McDonald) who was shot only 2 times standing, all other shots hit him lying already on the ground. And the charge against the office has been opened one year after the incident. And the mayor only dismissed the Chicago police chief because the discussion became a distraction and not because something was seriously wrong under his leadership...

I saw the (police) video from that incident. The police knew this happened this way and did nothing. Nada, zilch. Mind boggling. The worst thing is that they think they protect the policemen, but the result is that people trust the police less. That makes the work of the men and women in law enforcement more dangerous. As I said, it is mind boggling. It is a good thing the police chief was dismissed, looking at some recent video's that should happen more often.

Should be triple that. My guess is the lawyers will get 30-40%.

Don't know that much about the American judicial system. In some countries the loosing party (in this case the Chicago Police Department) will be ordered to pay the expenses of the winning party. But if this is no-cure-no-pay (which is forbidden in The Netherlands) then this system doesn't work... It seems you assume no-cure-no-pay.

The American household income is a little over US$50.000. I don't think he was unable to work for a year, but lets assume he lost US$50.000 because he wasn't able to work, he then got that same amount for immaterial damages. Seems more then fair to me. But then again, as I said, don't know that much about the American judicial system.

 

[ferider]

It's a settlement, Addy. No verdict. Nobody is guilty. Only money changed hands.

In Germany ("gefährliche Körperverletzung") this would have to be prosecuted to a verdict, and I assume in the Netherlands too.

 

[mdarnton]

The police chief was fired because one of his men put 16 bullets into a man's back mostly while he was on the ground on his face--an extra-judicial assassination of a citizen, basically. There was an election coming up, so the city paid the man's family $4 million hush money, which the mayor easily rammed through his puppet city council, nearly immediately. The election that was saved was Rahm's mayoral election, and he's the one who needs to be fired. There is no justice and no government in Chicago.

 

[Addy101]

It's a settlement, Addy. No verdict. Nobody is guilty. Only money changed hands.

In Germany ("gefährliche Körperverletzung") this would have to be prosecuted to a verdict, and I assume in the Netherlands too.

"Zware Mishandeling" - and yes, it would've been brought to criminal court. (Note to self: read better)

 

[Addy101]

The police chief was fired because one of his men put 16 bullets into a man's back mostly while he was on the ground on his face--an extra-judicial assassination of a citizen, basically. There was an election coming up, so the city paid the man's family $4 million hush money, which the mayor easily rammed through his puppet city council, nearly immediately. The election that was saved was Rahm's mayoral election, and he's the one who needs to be fired. There is no justice and no government in Chicago.

Vote another mayor in.
Vote with your feet and move.
It is a democracy and you get the government you deserve.....

I don't know if the mayor was to blame (again, I know not enough of the American system) but the police chief for sure is to blame. Not so much for his men shooting somebody (the men should be prosecuted) but for not acting upon it after the fact.

 

[Lss]

It is a democracy and you get the government you deserve.....

If you equals majority of voters, then yes.
If you equals you, then it is less likely and/or not really a democracy.

 

[mdarnton]

I can tell you don't know much about Chicago. In a completely corrupt system, you get what the system sets up for you, not what you vote for. This is a state where there's a long-standing tradition of our governors going directly from office into prison. There's talk of a Federal investigation, but this would be by the mayor's former buddy and boss, so where do you think that could lead? The firing of the police chief was a diversionary tactic, the human sacrifice of an expendable functionary, not a solution.

Vote another mayor in.
Vote with your feet and move.
It is a democracy and you get the government you deserve.....

I don't know if the mayor was to blame (again, I know not enough of the American system) but the police chief for sure is to blame. Not so much for his men shooting somebody (the men should be prosecuted) but for not acting upon it after the fact.

 

[Addy101]

I can tell you don't know much about Chicago. In a completely corrupt system, you get what the system sets up for you, not what you vote for. This is a state where there's a long-standing tradition of our governors going directly from office into prison. There's talk of a Federal investigation, but this would be by the mayor's former buddy and boss, so where do you think that could lead? The firing of the police chief was a diversionary tactic, the human sacrifice of an expendable functionary, not a solution.

I can tell you don't know much about political theory 😉

If you say Chicago is a corrupt city, it probably is - but why not try to change that in stead of complaining about it? Start a grass root organisation and make sure a mayor that is not corrupted gets chosen. Make sure the city council is independent from the mayor. It still is a democracy - you can be part of the solution!

Edit: almost forgot, the you in "you get the government you deserve" is "you, the people from Chicago" - not only the people who voted, as those who didn't vote couldn't be bothered who governed them.

 

[mdarnton]

No, you're right I don't know political theory. Political theory, like economic theory, is weighted according to viewpoint, and doesn't seem to carry much weight in the real world. If you think you can straighten the place out, you can come and try. 🙂 And then you can go on and fix Russia and China, the two countries whose politics, with one-party systems and thug rule, share the most with Chicago. 🙂

 

[JPSuisse]

Having very strong ties to Illinois (albeit Downstate), I am utterly ashamed of my state. It seems there is virtually no solution. As pointed out, a settlement is not justice done. Society will not improve, and another corrupt mayor gets re-elected.

 

[hepcat]

I can tell you don't know much about Chicago. In a completely corrupt system, you get what the system sets up for you, not what you vote for. This is a state where there's a long-standing tradition of our governors going directly from office into prison. There's talk of a Federal investigation, but this would be by the mayor's former buddy and boss, so where do you think that could lead? The firing of the police chief was a diversionary tactic, the human sacrifice of an expendable functionary, not a solution.

One need only read the political history of Chicago to understand what goes on there. Chicago is the home of the phrase "Vote early, vote often," and it's amazing how the dead are alleged to have risen up and voted on election days.

What's unfortunate is that for every "bad" cop there are a dozen who care and do their job the way it should be done, but they all get labelled because of the morons in their midst. It's very difficult to clean up a police department with a history of corruption that goes back over a hundred years. It can be done, but likely the next Superintendent won't be able to do it either. It's a sorry state of affairs, but a state of affairs that didn't start yesterday, and won't be cleaned up by tomorrow.

 

[BillBingham2]

I can tell you don't know much about political theory 😉

If you say Chicago is a corrupt city, it probably is - but why not try to change that in stead of complaining about it? Start a grass root organisation and make sure a mayor that is not corrupted gets chosen. Make sure the city council is independent from the mayor. It still is a democracy - you can be part of the solution!

Edit: almost forgot, the you in "you get the government you deserve" is "you, the people from Chicago" - not only the people who voted, as those who didn't vote couldn't be bothered who governed them.

Spoken like many of my friends from the lowland. Yes, things work differently over on this side of the pond. Different in Chicago from NYC, Des Monies, Tampa, Boston and D.C. Our country is a mixture of cultures, laws, approaches and people.

I grew up in Upstate New York and spent almost 10 years working in Manhattan (most of the time living in Brooklyn and Queens). Moving the the Chicago area I was shocked and sickened by the approach to politics there. How many Illinois Governors are have spent time in jail over the past 20 years? (answer, LOTS!).

Having lived in Cook County for about 25 years I can tell you there are dozens of people, perhaps hundreds who work in different political jobs in and around Chicago work are wonderful honest folks.

Hundreds of people have tried to make things better over the years, frankly it doesn't matter who is in power, I doubt it will ever change. I've seen a bit of politics here in Iowa and did while I was in Upstate and can say I've seem silliness everywhere.

Political theory is about as accurate as economic theory. Unlike science, they both are best guesses. There is no way to prove that if you do X, that every time you will get Y.

Fixing China, I believe their current president is working towards it. SO many variables, cultures, issues and people. Please understand that countries have wildly different histories and cultures. The ability of Australia to outlaw semi-automatic firearms does not mean it will work anywhere else but Australia.

Most of the Netherlands is under sea level, your entire country knows the importance of infrastructure. Few other countries have that understanding ingrained into every man woman and child.

Please don't over simplify aspects of the world that work well for you and expect everyone to follow your example. We are all very different and yet in many more ways, very much the same.

B2 (;->

 

[Ronald M]

I avoid going to Chicago , especially by car. Cars are targets for revenue.

Legal to photograph cops? Yes. But they want no witnesses to what they do. You will pay the price. They will all gang up with some phony charge and you will end up with a record.

Taking a beating from tough street cops is not worth a $million to me.

The feds are going to Chicago to investigate the police as we speak. The police chief has been fired. Chicago pays out millions of dollars annually for use of excessive force.

I have lived near Chicago for 70 years and it gets worse all the time. Or maybe the reporting just gets better.