Just under a decade after 19-year-old Roshad McIntosh was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer, a City Council committee will consider a proposed $2.25 million payout to settle a lawsuit filed by his family.
In the days after the teen’s death, McIntosh’s family had raised questions about the August 2014 shooting and the chase preceding it, a case twice investigated by police oversight authorities — with the officer who opened fire cleared of wrongdoing each time.
McIntosh’s mother, Cynthia Lane, filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging a cover-up by officers at the scene, several of whom changed their accounts of the shooting after watching surveillance video contradicting their initial statements to investigators.
Police had rolled up to a group of dozens of people gathered in the 2800 block of West Polk Street, and McIntosh ran off. Officer Robert Slechter chased McIntosh behind a two-flat and fired three shots, saying later the teen reached for a gun.
A loaded pistol was found on the front porch of the house, the Chicago Tribune reported in 2017, but no usable fingerprints were identified. The Independent Police Review Authority in 2017 found the shooting was justified, but the case was reopened at the request of McIntosh’s family when IPRA was replaced by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
After a two-year investigation, COPA also ruled that Slechter’s actions were justified. The agency later recommended that another officer at the scene be fired after his initial statement about what he saw was contradicted by surveillance footage. That officer, Saharat Sampim, retired while his firing was pending before the Police Board.
The $2.25 million settlement is on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the Council’s Finance Committee and, if approved, could be voted on by the full Council on Wednesday.
