Next Monday, a federal jury is set to revisit one of Chicago’s most closely watched police shootings, when trial begins in a civil-rights lawsuit over the 2020 wounding of Ariel Roman at the Grand Red Line CTA station. Video of the confrontation, showing two officers wrestling with Roman on a crowded River North platform before one of them fires, quickly turned into a national flashpoint in debates over police use of force. Roman’s attorneys say he was left with lasting injuries and argue the case will test whether the Chicago Police Department violated his constitutional rights that day.
The federal trial is scheduled to last about 10 days, according to WTTW. Federal court records show settlement talks fell apart, and no proposed deal was ever sent to the Chicago City Council for approval. Documents turned over to Roman’s legal team through a Freedom of Information Act request indicate the city had already spent roughly $1.15 million defending the case through Aug. 28.
What COPA found
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability concluded the shooting violated department policy and recommended that both officers be fired. Investigators found the officers escalated the encounter with multiple Taser discharges and pepper-spray deployments, and that Officer Melvina Bogard fired without making sure her partner or bystanders were outside her line of fire, according to Chicago Sun-Times reporting.
Video and the arrest sequence
Multiple bystander and surveillance videos captured Bogard and her partner, Officer Bernard Butler, struggling with Roman at the bottom of the escalator before using Tasers and pepper spray, and then firing the shots. In cellphone footage, Butler can be heard shouting "shoot him" moments before Bogard opens fire, and Roman was later charged, though prosecutors dropped those charges. His federal complaint accuses Bogard of using excessive force and Butler of provoking the shooting and failing to intervene, as detailed by CBS Chicago.
Bogard, the officer who pulled the trigger, was acquitted in a November 2022 bench trial after Cook County Judge Joseph Claps ruled she acted to protect herself, according to WTTW. She resigned from the force before a disciplinary hearing could take place, while Butler remained on the job. The split outcomes in the criminal, administrative, and civil arenas have left lingering questions about accountability as the case moves in front of a jury.
The Chicago Police Board narrowly voted 5-4 in August 2023 to suspend Butler for one year instead of firing him, a decision that came after then-Superintendent David Brown recommended terminating both officers, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Butler remains assigned to the Central (1st) District, the newspaper said.
Legal stakes
Roman’s federal lawsuit claims Bogard used excessive force and that Butler encouraged the shooting and failed to step in. If jurors side with Roman, the city could face substantial damages and renewed political pressure to overhaul training and oversight practices, according to CBS Chicago. The trial will give jurors the first chance to weigh the videos, witness testimony, and COPA’s findings against federal civil-rights standards.
