Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against 1 Of 2 Officers In Cedrick Chatman Shooting
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed against one of the two Chicago police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Cedrick Chatman three years ago.
Chatman's family filed an excessive force and wrongful death lawsuit against the city and Officers Lou Toth and Kevin Fry in August 2013, seven months after Fry shot and killed the teenager at the corner of 75th Street and Jeffery Avenue.
Toth did not fire any shots at Chatman, but his family argued Toth should have stopped his partner from shooting. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman ruled there was no way Toth could have known Fry was going to shoot, and had no reasonable opportunity to stop him.
Toth and fry were responding to reports of a carjacking and spotted Chatman in the silver Charger that had been stolen. When they pulled up next to the Charger at 75th and Jeffery, Chatman jumped out of the car and ran off. Fry shot and killed Chatman a few seconds later.
"The video tapes refute any suggestion that Toth had any opportunity to prevent Fry from discharging his weapon," Gettleman wrote, noting the entire incident lasted only 13 seconds from the time Chatman fled the vehicle until the time Toth handcuffed him after he'd been shot.
Police have said Chatman turned and pointed a dark object at the officers as he ran, and the officers have said they believed he was armed, although the dark object turned out to be an iPhone box.
Surveillance video of the shooting -- released by the city last week -- show the incident from different angles, but in each video it is difficult to tell if Chatman turns toward police before he was shot.
Gettleman said the videos show Fry was behind Toth, and Toth could not have seen what Fry was doing:
"Fry appears to discharge his weapon 6 seconds after Chatman began to run. The videos clearly show Toth chasing Chatman onto the 75th Street sidewalk, initially right on his heels and then falling slightly behind. Fry, on the other hand, remained in the middle of 75th Street, behind and to the right of both Toth and Chatman. Toth could not see Fry, and Fry gave no indication that he was going to shoot. Toth simply did not have time either to call for help or to stop Fry from firing. No reasonable jury could find otherwise."
The Chatman family's attorneys went so far as to claim it was unreasonable for Toth to even draw his weapon as he chased the teen, even though he did not fire, but Gettlman said the plaintiffs relied on "weak arguments."
Gettleman's ruling does not indicate whether or not Fry's decision to shoot Chatman was reasonable. Indeed, Gettleman notes the video "arguably supports plaintiff's claim against Officer Fry." The lawsuit against Fry will move forward.
The judge also expressed concern about how city attorneys have represented the two officers, noting the city initially fought to keep the videos out of the public eye, even though Gettleman said the tapes exonerate Toth.
Judge Dismisses Chatman Family Lawsuit Against Officer Lou Toth
