Chicago City Council approves $45 million settlement for teen catastrophically injured in police chase

CHICAGO (March 20, 2024) – The Chicago City Council unanimously approved a proposed $45 million settlement Wednesday in the case of The Estate of Jones v. the City of Chicago, et. al. (2022 L 1735).  The settlement is a reflection of the catastrophic injuries sustained by Nathen Jones, the uncontested cost of his lifetime care that will exceed $40,000,000, and the overwhelming evidence of liability in this case.  The Estate of Nathen Jones is represented by Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard attorneys Patrick A. Salvi II, Lance D. Northcutt, Aaron D. Boeder and Eirene N. Salvi.

The law firm issued the below statement following the approval of the settlement:

On April 10, 2021, Nathen was a 15-year-old boy in eighth grade.  He lived with his mother and sisters on the west side of Chicago.  He aspired to go to college and have success in life, none of which are available to him now.

Nathen Jones is now a young man who was robbed of his future.  He cannot speak or communicate his feelings.  He cannot dress himself, and the nourishment he receives comes from liquified food inserted through a tube into his stomach.  Nathen’s glazed look and distant stare of incomprehension rarely changes.  He cannot walk on his own and never will.

Some days, Nathen is taken to a school where he is unable to learn anything or have any semblance of human interaction with other kids.  Each day, Nathen’s mother and members of Nathen’s family attend to the multiple tasks required to keep him alive.  They clothe and bathe Nathen, administer medication, and change his diapers.

There is no hope of medical recovery for Nathen Jones.  His existence is one of being trapped in a body and mind than cannot perform even the most basic functions of a self-sustaining life.  As one of three backseat passengers in that car, Nathen’s world came to a crashing halt when an altogether preventable crash left him with less physical and cognitive function than he had as a toddler.

Nathen is expected to live for another 50 years in this condition. He is now severely brain damaged, but not unaware.  Given the enormous challenges he faces just to start each day, keeping Nathen alive and safe is prohibitively expensive, as demonstrated in Plaintiff’s uncontested medical damages in excess of $40,000,000.00.

In the months and years leading up to April 10, 2021, the City of Chicago was acutely aware of the rampant dangers experienced in CPD vehicle pursuits.  On August 15, 2020, the Chicago Police Department promulgated a directive through CPD General Order G03-03-01 regarding vehicle pursuits (hereinafter, “the Policy”).  The Policy, binding upon all members of the Chicago Police Department, instructed officers on what procedures were to be followed in a vehicular pursuit and the criteria under which a pursuit could be initiated.  Specifically, the Policy expressly forbade the initiation of any vehicular pursuit when the most serious offense committed that gave rise to the pursuit was a traffic offense other than driving under the influence.

CPD General Order G03-03-01 states, in pertinent part:

CPD General Order G03-03-01 was in full force and effect on April 10, 2021, and was communicated to every sworn member of the Chicago Police Department. To further emphasize not only the existence of the new policy, but the dangers associated with vehicle pursuits that was the catalyst for the new policy, CPD issued a department-wide training bulletin that included a picture of a crashed squad car on the first page to drive home the strident warning.

On April 10, 2021, Nathen Jones had just finished playing video games at a friend’s house when he got a ride in the back seat of a 2002 Volkswagen driven by a co-defendant in the lawsuit.  A Chicago police officer claimed that he caught a “glimpse” of the Volkswagen doing what he alternatively termed a “rolling” or “improper” stop.  When the officer activated his emergency, the Volkswagen refused to yield and instead, immediately accelerated southbound on North Wood Street.  While the officers knew through their training and under CPD general orders that they were prohibited from pursuing the Volkswagen, they did so anyway.

On a rainy night and in the middle of a residential neighborhood on a street with multiple four-way intersections, the officer pursued the Volkswagen as both vehicles blew through stop signs and a red light, eventually reaching speeds approaching 70 miles per hour.  None of the three officers – all of whom had police radios – went on the air to notify supervisors that a pursuit was underway.

As the Volkswagen entered the intersection of Grand Avenue and Damen Avenue, it slammed into a 2007 Toyota heading southbound on Damen.  The force of the collision fractured Nathen’s skull and resulted in severe trauma to his brain.  Unconscious and in critical condition, Nathen was rushed to the hospital very near death.  A portion of his skull was surgically removed and replaced in one of many extraordinary efforts to save Nathen’s life.

The officer who drove the CPD vehicle that night later testified under oath in a deposition, that the agreed with the proposition that the “entire pursuit was a violation of Chicago Police Department Policy…”  Each CPD supervisor who testified and the CPD sergeant who actually authored the department-wide training bulletin on the CPD vehicle pursuit policy confirmed that under no circumstances is an officer allowed to pursue a fleeing vehicle for a minor traffic violation.

On April 11, 2021, a formal complaint was initiated by a supervising patrol sergeant against the officer who drove the CPD vehicle, yet nearly three years later, there has been no publicly announced formal discipline issued.

In an instant, Nathen’s dreams were extinguished.  Life as he knew it had been lost and replaced by long days and nights of ceaseless dependence and suffering.

Nathen suffered catastrophic brain injuries– his skull was fractured, and he sustained multiple brain bleeds that led to the long-term death of brain tissue (encephalomalacia).  He now needs 24-hour nursing and medical care that will continue for the rest of his life and cost more than $40,000,000.

“There are no winners in this case, only degrees of loss,” said attorney Lance Northcutt.  “A young man’s life has been shattered and the family that loves him has placed their lives on hold to care for him.  While the majority of the settlement will be paid by insurance companies, the City has yet again been forced to contend with the human cost of one officer’s misconduct at a time when the hardworking men and women of the Chicago Police Department rightly deserve our collective respect and support.”

For more information, please contact Marcie Mangan at (312) 372-1227 or mmangan@salvilaw.com.

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