Wrongful death suit against Des Plaines cops moves to federal court
A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the mother of a Des Plaines man fatally shot by city police more than a year ago has been moved to federal court.
The suit, originally filed Dec. 17 in Cook County Circuit Court, claims Des Plaines police used excessive force when an officer fatally shot 24-year-old Krzysztof Kaczor “without sufficient provocation or imminent threat to their lives.”
Kaczor's mother, Danuta Kaczor of Elmwood Park, filed the suit, which lists the city of Des Plaines and 11 members of its police force as defendants. The four-count suit seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
The city this week requested the case be moved to U.S. District Court because such cases usually fall under federal jurisdiction. A court date has not yet been set.
Krzysztof Kaczor was killed in the early morning hours of Dec. 21 when, according to police accounts, he threatened an officer with a long-handled ax.
Police said officers went to the area near Kaczor's home on the 400 block of Washington Street about 1 a.m. that morning after receiving a call of shots fired in the area. An officer later spotted Kaczor running on Oxford Road, carrying an ax, according to police
The officer got out of his car, drew his gun and ordered Kaczor to drop the ax, police said.
Kaczor didn't heed the warnings, police said, but instead turned toward the officer, held the ax in a threatening manner and approached. He was shot at least four times after refusing to drop the weapon and died shortly afterward, according to police.
Danuta Kaczor attorney, Jay Paul Deratany, previously said the officer did not have to kill his client's son because he was not an imminent threat.
Deratany said it was Kaczor who called police the night he was shot, and since he spoke limited English he likely didn't understand the officer who ordered him to drop the ax.
Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini has said that the Cook County Public Integrity Unit investigated the case, and ruled it as a justified shooting.