$45 million settlement proposed for teen left paralyzed after crash during police chase
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The City Council is set to consider a massive $45 million settlement with the family of a 15-year-old boy who was left unable to walk or talk, after a crash during a police chase over a simple traffic stop in 2021.
The City Council Finance Committee on Monday will vote on the proposed settlement with Nathen Jones, who – according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County in 2022 – suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash, and needs around-the-clock care for the rest of his life.
The city's insurance policy would pay for $25 million of the settlement, with the city's taxpayers responsible for the remaining $20 million.
It is believed to be the largest settlement the city has ever paid out over a crash from a police chase. It's also the largest settlement of any kind paid by the city since a $50 million settlement of the lawsuits filed by the families of six people killed in a fire at the Cook County Administration Building at 69 W. Washington St., claiming a flawed response by firefighters.
"The proposed settlement is a reflection of the catastrophic injuries sustained by this young man, the uncontested cost of his lifetime care that will exceed $40,000,000.00 and the overwhelming evidence of liability in this case," Jones' attorneys said in a statement.
Jones was a passenger in a 2002 Volkswagen CC on April 10, 2021, when a police squad car tried to pull the driver over for a traffic violation near Wood and Huron streets in West Town. When the driver didn't stop, police chased the Volkswagen for several blocks as the driver ran several stop lights and stop signs, before crashing into a 2007 Toyota Yaris at the intersection of Grand and Damen avenues, causing Jones to suffer "catastrophic" and permanent injuries, according to the lawsuit.
"Nathen is non-verbal, dependent on caregivers for all aspects of activities of daily living, and unable to communicate his needs," Jones' attorneys wrote in court filings in the case.
The chase was a violation of Chicago Police Department policy, which bans officers from conducting a chase over a simple traffic violation.
The lawsuit filed by Jones' mother claims the officers who initiated the pursuit of the Volkswagen "consciously violated the general orders of the Chicago Police Department that expressly forbade officers from pursuing traffic offenders."
"This senseless and purposeful disregard for the safety of others has destroyed the life of Nathen Jones, a minor who was a rear seat passenger in the fleeing vehicle," Jones' attorneys wrote.
If approved by the Finance Committee on Monday, the settlement in Jones' lawsuit could get a vote by the full City Council as soon as Wednesday.
Meantime, the Finance Committee is expected to vote on two other multimillion-dollar lawsuits accusing police of misconduct.
The first involves notorious former Chicago police detective Reynaldo Guevara, who has been accused of coercing false confessions as far back as the 1980s. Dozens of convictions tied to Guevara have been thrown out.
Ricardo Rodriguez, who spent 22 years in prison for murder before prosecutors agreed to vacate his conviction, in 2018, would get a $5.5 million settlement in his federal lawsuit against the city.
Rodriguez's lawsuit claims Guevara and other officers conspired to fabricate an anonymous tip tying Rodriguez to the shooting death of his friend, Rodney Kemppainen, and coerced two witnesses to falsely implicate Rodriguez after both told police Rodriguez was not the killer.
The lawsuit also claims police failed to disclose to prosecutors or Rodriguez's defense attorneys that another witness had given a description of the shooter that did not match Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was convicted at a bench trial in 1997. But prosecutors agreed to drop the case against him in 2018, after one of the witnesses who had testified against him recanted and said his testimony was coerced, and Rodriguez's defense team presented evidence of a witness who said someone else was the shooter.
Dozens of other convictions linked to the now-retired Guevara have been thrown out. He's been accused of manufacturing false evidence and framing the innocent. Guevara repeatedly has refused to answer questions about allegations of misconduct in cases that have been overturned, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The final settlement on Monday's agenda is a $2.25 million payment to the family of Roshad McIntosh, who was shot and killed by police in 2014.
The city's Independent Police Review Authority, which has since been replaced by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, deemed the shooting was justified, but McIntosh's family has said he was unarmed, and officers planted a gun at the scene.