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CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on a settlement in a lawsuit that accuses Chicago police of traumatizing a young girl (all times local):
8:30 p.m.
Chicago's City Council has approved a $2.5 million settlement in an excessive-force lawsuit that accuses police of traumatizing a 3-year-old girl by pointing a gun at her chest and striking her handcuffed mother.
A 2017 Justice Department report criticized Chicago police for too often using excessive force, including against children. The city has since pledged to overhaul police procedures and training.
A lawyer for Aretha Simmons, the girl's mother, says some police departments in other U.S. cities have embraced far-reaching reforms on how officers should interact with children. Attorney Al Hofeld Jr. says a key element is for officers to recognize that the brains of small children and teenagers process information differently than those of adults.
Hofeld says upcoming Chicago Police Department reforms don't address how officers treat children during arrests.
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8 a.m.
Chicago's City Council is expected to approve a $2.5 million settlement in an excessive-force lawsuit that accuses police of traumatizing a 3-year-old girl by pointing a gun at her chest and striking her handcuffed mother.
A lawyer for Aretha Simmons, the girl's mother, says upcoming Chicago Police Department reforms don't address how officers treat children during arrests. Attorney Al Hofeld Jr. says "it is not even on CPD's radar."
A 2017 Justice Department report criticized police for too often using excessive force. The city pledged to overhaul police procedures and training.
The City Council is scheduled to vote on the settlement Wednesday.
The council's finance committee already approved the settlement. A city lawyer told the committee the girl remains traumatized and will likely require psychiatric treatment into adulthood.
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