A Chicago police officer is staring down possible dismissal after the city's civilian watchdog found he shot and paralyzed a 13-year-old boy who was holding a cellphone that officers later said they mistook for a gun. According to investigators, the encounter unfolded late on May 18, 2022, at a West Side gas station in the 800 block of North Cicero Avenue during a chase of a vehicle wanted in a carjacking investigation. The boy's family says he was left paralyzed from the waist down and, in October 2022, they filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the officer.
COPA Recommends Dismissal
According to the Chicago Sun‑Times, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability concluded Officer Noah Ball violated department rules and recommended he be fired. In a letter to COPA Chief Administrator LaKenya White, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling backed the findings and said the department would move to put Ball on the city's do‑not‑hire list. COPA described Ball's conduct as “of the most egregious nature, that which jeopardized the safety of an individual and may have resulted in physical injury or the loss of life.”
Family Files Federal Lawsuit
As reported by ABC7 Chicago, the boy’s family filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit in October 2022 naming both the city of Chicago and Ball as defendants. In that coverage, the family's attorneys say the teen - identified in court filings as A.G. - now uses a wheelchair and may never walk again. ABC7 also reported that the Chicago Police Department relieved Ball of full police powers and placed him on administrative duty while the criminal and administrative investigations played out.
Bodycam, Surveillance, And The Officer’s Account
The shooting quickly drew intense scrutiny as video clips and witness recordings began to circulate. The Daily Beast reported that surveillance and body‑worn camera footage show the teen running into a gas station lot and, according to family attorneys, appearing to have his hands up when a bullet struck him. Ball’s attorney has told reporters that the officer believed the object in the teen’s hand was a gun and that he made a split‑second decision because he felt threatened. Witnesses and advocates have continued to press the city to release all available footage and to hold the officer accountable as the civil lawsuit and internal review move ahead.
COPA Findings And Evidence
The Chicago Sun‑Times reports that COPA investigators concluded Ball fired three shots as officers closed in on the teen, and that a cellphone in a black case was later recovered near a small pool of blood. The outlet notes that Ball was quoted in the report as exclaiming, "It's a cell phone - it's a f----ing cell phone," after realizing what the object was. Investigators faulted him both for using his weapon and for failing to activate his body‑worn camera during the encounter. The Cook County state's attorney's office later told reporters it had found "insufficient evidence" to support criminal charges against Ball.
Legal And Administrative Outlook
The COPA recommendation now moves into the Chicago Police Department's disciplinary process and could lead to a Police Board hearing that would ultimately decide Ball's future with the force, even as the family's federal lawsuit continues in court. ABC7 Chicago has reported that Ball was already stripped of full police duties while the probes were underway. For many in Chicago, the case has become another test of how the city responds when an officer’s split‑second decision collides with questions about training, accountability, and the use of body‑worn cameras.
