Jury awards $1M in lockup death trial
Sweeping verdict condemns policies; 'city will have to change,' attorney says
(Tribune illustration)
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In a verdict that could force sweeping changes in how Chicago police treat prisoners with medical needs, a federal jury on Monday awarded $1 million in damages to the family of a community activist who died in a police lockup nearly a decade ago.
In addition to holding the city and seven police officers liable in the 2004 death of May Molina, the nine-member jury found that Chicago's policies and practices concerning medical care in police lockups across the city violated the constitutional rights of detainees.
It's rare for such a sweeping legal claim against the city to go to trial. After the verdict, attorney Jon Loevy, representing Molina's family, said his clients refused to settle and fought for nine years because they wanted to prove that Molina's death was not an isolated incident but the result of widespread problems in the system.
"This family decided they wanted to prove what happened, and they won," Loevy said. "It's an extraordinary case. ... It means the city will have to change."
Roderick Drew, a spokesman for the city's Law Department, expressed disappointment with the verdict and said the city will review "all available options, including filing an appeal."
Molina died in the lockup at the Belmont and Western police station in May 2004 about 30 hours after her arrest on a drug possession charge. According to trial testimony, she received no medical attention in that time despite suffering from asthma and diabetes and repeated warnings from her family that she needed medication.
Jerry Bischoff, who was Molina's attorney at the time, testified he could hardly speak to her when he went to the lockup about 12 hours before her death. He said that when he told the lockup officers that Molina should be hospitalized, the on-duty guard responded, "We're working on it, counselor."
Attorney John Gibbons, representing the officers and the city, argued that Molina, 55, caused her own death by secretly swallowing packets of heroin at the time of her arrest. All seven officers testified she never asked for treatment or to go to a hospital during her time in the lockup.
To bolster their claim of a broken system, Loevy's team had experts mine more than 13,000 Chicago police arrest reports from 2000 to 2004 for information about whether arrestees with serious medical issues had been taken to a hospital while in custody.
Michael Brasfield, a retired Seattle assistant police chief who testified as a paid plaintiff's expert, said Chicago holds arrestees at stations for much longer than other cities, allows untrained desk officers to make crucial health decisions and fails to bring in qualified medical personnel even when there are red flags such as heart trouble or seizures.
The jury deliberated for at least 20 hours over four days before reaching its verdict Monday evening. Molina's son, Sal Ortiz, was parking his car when word of the verdict came in, and it was read so quickly that he didn't make it up to U.S. District Judge John Grady's courtroom in time.
In the darkened lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse moments later, Ortiz said he felt like his mom finally had justice.
"They can't just ignore people like that in a cell," an emotional Ortiz said. "Now they're going to start paying attention. Absolutely. They have to."
jmeisner@tribune.com
In addition to holding the city and seven police officers liable in the 2004 death of May Molina, the nine-member jury found that Chicago's policies and practices concerning medical care in police lockups across the city violated the constitutional rights of detainees.
It's rare for such a sweeping legal claim against the city to go to trial. After the verdict, attorney Jon Loevy, representing Molina's family, said his clients refused to settle and fought for nine years because they wanted to prove that Molina's death was not an isolated incident but the result of widespread problems in the system.
"This family decided they wanted to prove what happened, and they won," Loevy said. "It's an extraordinary case. ... It means the city will have to change."
Roderick Drew, a spokesman for the city's Law Department, expressed disappointment with the verdict and said the city will review "all available options, including filing an appeal."
Molina died in the lockup at the Belmont and Western police station in May 2004 about 30 hours after her arrest on a drug possession charge. According to trial testimony, she received no medical attention in that time despite suffering from asthma and diabetes and repeated warnings from her family that she needed medication.
Jerry Bischoff, who was Molina's attorney at the time, testified he could hardly speak to her when he went to the lockup about 12 hours before her death. He said that when he told the lockup officers that Molina should be hospitalized, the on-duty guard responded, "We're working on it, counselor."
Attorney John Gibbons, representing the officers and the city, argued that Molina, 55, caused her own death by secretly swallowing packets of heroin at the time of her arrest. All seven officers testified she never asked for treatment or to go to a hospital during her time in the lockup.
To bolster their claim of a broken system, Loevy's team had experts mine more than 13,000 Chicago police arrest reports from 2000 to 2004 for information about whether arrestees with serious medical issues had been taken to a hospital while in custody.
Michael Brasfield, a retired Seattle assistant police chief who testified as a paid plaintiff's expert, said Chicago holds arrestees at stations for much longer than other cities, allows untrained desk officers to make crucial health decisions and fails to bring in qualified medical personnel even when there are red flags such as heart trouble or seizures.
The jury deliberated for at least 20 hours over four days before reaching its verdict Monday evening. Molina's son, Sal Ortiz, was parking his car when word of the verdict came in, and it was read so quickly that he didn't make it up to U.S. District Judge John Grady's courtroom in time.
In the darkened lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse moments later, Ortiz said he felt like his mom finally had justice.
"They can't just ignore people like that in a cell," an emotional Ortiz said. "Now they're going to start paying attention. Absolutely. They have to."
jmeisner@tribune.com
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