Illinois Verdicts

Amount:

$8,500,000

Type:

Verdict-Plaintiff

State:

Illinois

Venue:

Cook County

Court:

Cook County Circuit Court

Injury Type(s):

Case Type:

Wrongful Death – Civil Rights – Police as Defendant

Case Name:

Annie Johnson, as Special Administrator of the Estate of Aaron Harrison, deceased v. City of Chicago and John R. Fitzgerald,
No. 07-L-008493

Date:

August 15, 2013

Plaintiff(s):

Estate of Aaron Harrison (Male, 18 Years)

Plaintiff Attorney(s):

James D. Montgomery Jr.;
Cochran, Cherry, Givens, Smith & Montgomery, L.L.C.;
Chicago,
IL,
for
Estate of Aaron Harrison ■ John K. Kennedy;
Cochran, Cherry, Givens, Smith & Montgomery, L.L.C.;
Chicago,
IL,
for
Estate of Aaron Harrison

Defendant(s):

CIty of Chicago, 

John Fitzgerald

Defense Attorney(s):

James F. Ormond;
City of Chicago, Corporation Counsel’s Office;
Chicago,
IL,
for
CIty of Chicago, John Fitzgerald ■ Margaret Schneider;
City of Chicago, Corporation Counsel’s Office;
Chicago,
IL,
for
CIty of Chicago, John Fitzgerald

Insurer(s):

Self-Insured for City of Chicago

On Aug. 6, 2007, at approximately 7:30 p.m., plaintiff’s decedent Aaron Harrison, 18, was part of a crowd standing in front of a convenience store at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Francisco Avenue in Chicago. Police officer John Fitzgerald was in the passenger seat of a patrol vehicle passing through the area when he claimed he saw Harrison look in his direction, place his hand near his waistband, and move around a weighted object he thought to be a gun. The patrol vehicle attempted to block an avenue of escape for the crowd. However, as he exited the vehicle, Ftizgerald claimed that Harrison ran from the scene. Fitzgerald chased Harrison onto Mozart Street, drawing his gun. According to Fitzgerald, he yelled "drop the gun!" to Harrison, but fired when Harrison pointed his gun at him. The bullet severed Harrison‘s spine, killing him. Annie Johnson, on behalf of her son’s estate, sued the City of Chicago and Fitzgerald, alleging that Harrison was not carrying a gun at the time of the altercation, and that the gun that was recovered from him was planted there by police officers. According to the estate’s counsel, there was no way that the shooting could have occurred the way that police claimed that it did. They argued that the semiautomatic 9mm handgun recovered from the scene of the incident was placed there to cover up Fitzgerald’s shooting an unarmed civilian. Five civilian eyewitnesses at the scene testified that Harrison was unarmed at the time of the shooting. Four of the eyewitnesses testified to being immediately ordered to leave the scene of the incident by officers. One eyewitness testified that after the shooting, Fitzgerald went up to Harrison‘s body and handcuffed him. The eyewitness claimed that the handcuffing appeared to take a long time, and after Fitzgerald got up, Harrison‘s alleged gun was on the ground. The estate’s counsel called three forensic scientists from the Illinois State Police crime lab, who tested the handgun recovered from the scene. The latent print examiner testified that there were no usable prints found on the gun. The firearms examiner testified that the inside of the gun’s barrel was rusted. According to the expert, the rust could only occur if the gun sat for a period of time in poor conditions. The DNA expert testified to finding a small stain of Harrison‘s blood on the tip of the gun and finding two other unidentified strains of DNA. The expert claimed to have requested DNA standards from the officers at the scene of the incident. The estate’s counsel contended that the City of Chicago did not respond to these requests. Officers at the scene of the incident testified to seeing a gun peeking out of Harrison‘s shirt, as well as seeing it in his hand at a different time. Defense counsel contended that Fitzgerald reasonably believed he was in imminent danger, and was appropriate in shooting Harrison.

Harrison was shot to death. The estate’s counsel sought a recovery for Harrison‘s mother and his brother, Anton Harrison, 15. They sought damages of $11 million for loss of society and for grief and sorrow as a result of Harrison‘s death.

The case previously went to trial in May 2013, ending in a mistrial, with eight jurors in favor of the defendants, three for the plaintiff, and one undecided. In the second trial, the jury found the defendants liable for Harrison‘s death. It determined that the estate’s damages totaled $8.5 million.

Estate of Aaron Harrison $6,000,000 Wrongful Death: loss of society; $2,500,000 Wrongful Death: grief and sorrow

Judge:

Elizabeth M. Budzinski

Demand:

$3 million (indicated lower)

Offer:

$100,000 (withdrawn)

Trial Length:

4
 days

Trial Deliberations:

3
 hours

Jury Composition:

5 African-American/ 1 Hispanic/ 6 white

This report is based on information that was provided by plaintiff’s and defense counsel.