Chicago City Council Finance Committee Votes Against $1.25M Settlement in Dexter Reed Police Shooting Civil Rights Lawsuit

CHICAGO (WLS) — The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee rejected a $1.25 million settlement Friday in the civil rights lawsuit over the fatal police shooting of Dexter Reed during a traffic stop last year.

The settlement failed 12-15.

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Pushback on the settlement was expected.

Reed was killed on March 21, 2024.

Terms of the out-of-court settlement were reached in November.

According to the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Reed, who was 26 years old, fired the first shot during the fatal traffic stop, striking a Chicago police officer.

Officers then fired 96 shots at Reed, hitting him 13 times.

The incident occurred when a plainclothes tactical team, traveling in an unmarked squad car, pulled over Reed in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood of the city. The stop was initiated for an alleged seatbelt violation.

Alderman Marty Quinn, whose 13th Ward on Chicago’s Southwest Side is home to a lot of first responders, previously called the settlement a bad deal.

“Dexter Reed shot first, and you can’t shoot a Chicago police officer ever, ever. And the precedent that is establishing that you shoot a police officer and you get $1.2 million, that’s a very dangerous precedent for the city to take. So, I will be voting, ‘no,'” Quinn said.

Other alders questioned the speed of the settlement compared to others.

“What’s also concerning is how quickly COPA took such an adversarial position with scheduling press conferences and was engaging with the Reed family. They’re supposed to be objective,” 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea said.

Reed’s family said he suffered from mental illness, and filed the civil rights lawsuit alleging the traffic stop was racially motivated, which is something the city denies.

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th Ward alderman, said he would vote for the settlement.

“The family of Dexter Reed deserves justice. Dexter Reed deserves justice. What occurred to him is terrible,” Ramirez-Rosa said.

The four officers involved were placed on desk duty.

It’s not clear what will happen next.

“One of the reasons why we make settlements is because our corporation counsel sees there is a possibility that we could be sued for more money, and they’re trying to save the citizens money,” 27th Ward Ald. Walter Burnett previously said.