Romanucci & Blandin, LLC File Civil Lawsuit on Behalf of Rickey Williams Against City of Chicago and Chicago Police Dept. Commander Glenn Evans
CHICAGO, Sept. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys for private citizen, Rickey Williams, today announced the filing of a civil lawsuit against the City of Chicago and Chicago Police Department (CPD) Commander Glenn Evans for the use of unreasonable and excessive force and malicious prosecution on the evening of Jan. 30, 2013. The claim also alleges breach of duty by the City of Chicago, noting that the City of Chicago knew or should have known about or prevented Evans' use of excessive force, in addition to the City of Chicago's legal proceedings of false charges against Williams in violation of his Fourteenth Amendment rights.
The complaint states that on the evening of Jan. 30, 2013, plaintiff Williams was waiting for the bus at 71st Street and South Eberhart Avenue in Chicago when defendant Commander Evans and ten CPD officers pursued Williams into an abandoned house after Williams became scared and ran from the bus stop. At the house, Evans demanded to know where Williams had "put the guns," which Williams denied knowing anything about. Evans then inserted his police issued firearm deep in Williams' mouth and placed a Taser at his groin, verbally threatening to kill him on the spot. Additionally, Evans threatened to pin false gun charges against Williams. Williams was arrested and charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor, as no weapons or drugs were found upon him. The charge against Williams was dismissed several months later. Following an investigation into the incident on Jan. 30, 2013 by the Independent Police Review Authority, the Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez charged Evans with one count of aggravated battery and one count of official police misconduct.
"Police misconduct in the city of Chicago has reached a level to where its citizens should no longer tolerate such abuses and constitutional violations," said Williams' attorney Antonio Romanucci, partner at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC. "Clearly, with the allegations being leveled against Commander Evans, we now continue to observe that police abuse, torture and misconduct is condoned and practiced at the highest levels in the CPD. It is clear as to why rank and file participate in continued abuse when such actions are practiced with regularity by commanders – the very ones who take an oath of honor to prevent these abuses."
According to public records obtained by Romanucci & Blandin, Commander Evans has more than 45 civilian complaints filed against him related to similar violations of constitutional rights and the use of excessive force. Despite allegations of misconduct, in March 2014, at a public meeting, CPD Superintendent of Police Garry McCarthy referred to his transferring of Commander Evans from the 3rd District to the 11th District as a promotion and publicly applauded his leadership on the force.
Plaintiff Williams seeks judgment against the City of Chicago and Commander Evans, awarding compensatory damages and attorney's fees. The lawsuit is civil action No: 1:14-cv-06959.
About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC
Romanucci & Blandin has been rated as a leading civil trial practice law firm in Chicago concentering in personal injury and police misconduct. The attorneys at the Chicago law firm represent individuals and their families in catastrophic personal injury matters, wrongful death and workers' compensation cases. The cases that are referred to Romanucci & Blandin involve accidents or injuries which occurred due to negligence and carelessness on the part of individuals, governmental bodies and corporations of all sizes. Since its inception more than 15 years ago, Romanucci & Blandin has secured more than $300 million in verdicts and settlements on behalf of their clients. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000.
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SOURCE Romanucci & Blandin, LLC
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