North Chicago settles Taser death lawsuit for $3 million
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) - The city of North Chicago has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who died after police officers beat and shocked him repeatedly with a Taser.
Neither the city nor police admitted wrongdoing in the 2011 death of 45-year-old Darrin Hanna, the Chicago Tribune (http://trib.in/1NBd5pf ) reports.
The incident happened when police were dispatched to Hanna's apartment after a report that he was beating his pregnant girlfriend. Police said at the time that Hanna fought with officers and that they hit and shocked him until they could handcuff him.
The Lake County Coroner's office found wounds inflicted by police contributed to Hanna's death a week later. His arms and sides had multiple bruises, and the coroner's office counted 11 Taser burns.
The coroner also cited Hanna's cocaine abuse, poor kidney function and high blood pressure. The cause of his death was listed as multiple organ failure connected to sickle cell trait.
After an internal investigation, the city announced it was firing one of the officers at the scene and suspending another. Hanna's mother, Gloria Carr, said she hopes officers involved face criminal charges.
"I want them charged with murder," she said, "because if this was turned around and Darrin had beaten one of them, he would be in prison today. It's just not fair that they should get away with this."
The case was investigated by Illinois State Police. It was reviewed by the Lake County State's Attorney's office, but it declined to file charges.
Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. said the city has worked with the Carr family to improve police-community relations since Hanna's death, including creation of a citizen advisory board. Carr said she believes the department has made improvements under a new chief.
In the four years before Hanna's death, use of force incidents rose each year, the Tribune previously found in North Chicago Police Department reports. In that time, 10 federal lawsuits were filed against the city.
City attorney Chuck Smith said there haven't been any other lawsuits claiming police brutality since Hanna's death, and virtually no complaints.
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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com