'It will help him move on': Teen mistakenly shot by Des Plaines cop settles lawsuit for $1.9 million

A Chicago teenager who was mistakenly shot by a Des Plaines police officer in 2019 has settled a lawsuit against the suburb for $1.9 million.

According to a statement released by Des Plaines, the insurance company representing the city decided to settle the lawsuit brought by Rylan Wilder, who was 15 when he was wounded at the UpBeat Music & Art school in Chicago that November.

The settlement didn't require a city council vote, Des Plaines spokeswoman Maureen Stern said.

"The insurance company determined that they wanted to settle the case," Stern said. "Since they are the ones paying the claim, (the) city council does not need to approve."

The robbery leading to the shooting occurred at Bank of America, 1300 E. Oakton St. Chicagoan Christopher Willis robbed the bank and fled in a vehicle driven by Maurice Murphy, also of Chicago, authorities said.

Murphy was captured in Des Plaines shortly after the heist. Willis carjacked a vehicle, drove off, shot a Chicago cop and then ran into the music school, where he was fatally shot, police said.

Wilder, a guitarist who worked at the school, was shot when he stepped in front of Des Plaines police officer James Armstrong as Armstrong fired a rifle at Willis.

The city hasn't admitted wrongdoing or liability, and the settlement doesn't change that. Officials called Armstrong, who wasn't charged, a hero for "putting his life at risk to save others."

Still, city officials expressed their sympathies for Wilder in their statement.

Wilder, now 19, has undergone 18 surgeries and underwent three hours of physical therapy a day for almost three years, according to a news release from his attorney, Tim Kavanaugh. He has no feeling in his left arm, hand and fingers.

"The settlement can never make up for what Rylan has lost, the pain and suffering he has endured and the trauma of being shot at age 15 by a police officer while going about his everyday business at a music school," Kavanaugh said in the news release. "However, it will help him move on with his life, continue to get the medical care he needs and pursue his dreams."

Wilder is majoring in music technology at Columbia College and has resumed playing guitar.