The long-running legal battle over the police killing of South Shore barber Harith Augustus is not over after all. An Illinois appellate court has thrown out the jury verdict that cleared Chicago police officers in a wrongful-death suit and ordered a new trial, finding that lawyers for the city improperly used pretrial peremptory strikes to remove two Black prospective jurors. The ruling sends the case back to Cook County for another trial and brings back several claims that the lower court had previously pared down.
Appellate court's decision and reasoning
In a March 31 order, the appellate panel ruled that the defendants' stated reasons for striking two Black members of the jury pool were pretextual and violated the Equal Protection Clause of both the U.S. and Illinois constitutions. That conclusion wiped out the earlier judgment in favor of the officers. The court also held that the trial judge erred in granting summary judgment on the civil-conspiracy claim and remanded multiple issues to the trial court for further proceedings, as detailed in the Illinois Appellate Court's opinion.
How the case reached the appeal
A Cook County jury had sided with the officers when the civil trial wrapped up in mid-2023, a result that pushed the Augustus family to take the case up on appeal. Coverage of that 2023 verdict and the surrounding courtroom fight was provided by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Family and city respond
Attorneys for the Augustus family cast the appellate ruling as a long-overdue reset. "We are thrilled that the Appellate Court … saw the injustice of the first trial and ordered a new one," said Renee Spence of Loevy & Loevy. Co-counsel Scott Rauscher called the decision "another opportunity to seek justice for Mr. Augustus." The city, for its part, signaled it is not backing down. A spokesperson for the City Law Department said it "strongly disagrees with the court's decision and is considering next steps," according to WTTW News.
COPA's findings
Long before the civil verdict, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability had already faulted the officers' tactics. In its summary report, COPA found that officers "clearly demonstrated a lack of clarity regarding how to engage" Augustus and that "their lack of understanding led to an escalation" that "may well have impacted the ultimate, tragic outcome." In 2021, the agency sent its findings and recommendations to the Chicago Police Department and urged changes to officer training and policy for encounters involving concealed-carry permits, according to COPA.
Criminal review and past findings
The question of criminal charges went to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, which reviewed the incident and, in a 2024 memorandum, concluded there was not enough evidence to bring a case against Officer Dillan Halley. That memo pointed to body-worn and surveillance video that showed Augustus reaching for his holstered weapon and stressed that prosecutors must be able to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in any criminal prosecution, according to the memo from the Cook County State's Attorney.
Legal stakes for a retrial
The appellate court's Batson finding sets the stage for a highly scrutinized jury selection process in any new trial. City attorneys will have to provide race-neutral explanations for any peremptory strikes that are challenged. The opinion also revived the civil-conspiracy theory by finding fault with the earlier summary-judgment rulings, which means jurors could hear broader allegations about how officers coordinated the stop that led to the shooting, as explained in the Illinois Appellate Court decision.
What's next
The appeals court did not set a new trial date, so the case now heads back to Cook County circuit court for scheduling and more pretrial maneuvering. The killing of Augustus, who was shot during a July 2018 encounter with police, has stayed in the public eye. It was the subject of Bill Morrison's short documentary "Incident," and the latest ruling guarantees at least one more chapter in a saga closely watched by neighbors, activists and legal observers, as chronicled by Block Club Chicago.
