$3.5M Verdict Restored To Family Of Teen Killed By CPD's Marco Proano
CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- In a unanimous decision, a state Appeals Court Tuesday restored a $3.5 million jury award won by the family of a teen fatally shot by a Chicago Police officer in 2011.
Former CPD Officer Marco Proano shot 19-year-old Niko Husband when investigating a report of an AK-47 at a South Side dance party. The city claimed Husband pulled a gun from his belt and that a taser failed to stop him.
In 2015, a jury initially sided with Husband's family, awarding them $3.5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. Shortly thereafter, however, Cook County Judge Elizabeth Budzinski reversed the decision, by which time Proano was under investigation for firing 16 shots into a car of unarmed teens -- wounding two. The shooting was captured on dashboard camera footage.
Attorney Donald Shapiro said, "Nothing can bring back Niko, but at least there is some vindication for their son, and some element to feel that their story and their voices have been heard."
The city is refusing comment.