The Chicago City Council Finance Committee has green-lighted a hefty $1.75 million settlement for the family of Iris Chavez, a veteran who took her own life in a police holding cell back in December 2021. The tragic incident occurred shortly after the 33-year-old Army vet, grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder, was detained following an altercation with a security guard at a local bar. According to WGN-TV, the only dissenting voice in the committee vote was Ald. Bill Conway of the 34th Ward, citing concerns about the precedent the settlement might set.
Details derived from a city attorney’s account suggest Chavez tried to communicate her mental duress to the officers, a cry for help that evidently went unheeded. The family's lawsuit, which highlights the denial of basic medical care and a failure to recognize the mental health crisis at hand, could, finally be put to rest next week if the full City Council affirms the committee’s recommendation on May 22. The lawsuit, detailed by The Chicago Tribune, alleges that conditions of unreasonable confinement, along with inadequate policies for accommodating people with mental disabilities, contributed to the woman's death.
In addition to the payout concerning Chavez, the Finance Committee also approved other settlements totaling $1,655,000, rooted in incidents of alleged police misconduct involving vehicles. Among them was a $525,000 payment to a teenager who the police accidentally ran over, and a $940,000 settlement to a man injured during a police chase.
The latter case involved a high-speed pursuit over a minor traffic violation, which led to a crash leaving the man hospitalized for over a month. “The police chase violated CPD’s vehicle pursuit policies by engaging in a pursuit over a minor traffic offense and again by continuing the chase when he could not see the car he was chasing," city attorney Margaret Mendenhall Casey was reported to have said by The Chicago Tribune.
These settlements, especially the one concerning Chavez, shed light on the continuing discourse surrounding law enforcement’s interactions with individuals facing mental health crises and the necessary protocols that need to be in place to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
