The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10-year-old girl
A jury has awarded nearly $80 million to the family of a 10-year-old Chicago girl who was killed during a police chase and crash in 2020
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A jury awarded nearly $80 million to the family of a 10-year-old Chicago girl who was killed during a police chase and crash in 2020.
The city had acknowledged liability in the death of Da'Karia Spicer. The only issue for the Cook County jury was the financial award.
Attorneys representing the city of Chicago said the amount should be between $12 million and $15 million, but the jury settled on $79.8 million after hearing closing arguments Wednesday.
“The impact of this incident was catastrophic, and the Spicer family lost a bright, talented and smart 10-year-old girl who was the absolute light of their lives,” attorney Patrick Salvi II said.
Da'Karia was among family members in a Honda Accord when the vehicle was struck by a Mercedes that was traveling about 90 mph (145 kph) while being pursued by Chicago police, according to a lawsuit.
Officers saw the Mercedes cut through an alley but otherwise had no reasonable grounds to chase the vehicle, lawyers for the family alleged.
“We recognize fully that there are instances where the police must pursue. But that wasn’t the case here," Salvi said.
The crash occurred while Da'Karia's father was taking her to get a laptop for remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The city is reviewing the verdict and has no further comment at this time,” said Kristen Cabanban, spokesperson at the city's law department.