3-Year-Old Chicago Girl Awarded $2.5M Settlement After Police Officer Points Gun At Her Chest

Chicago’s City Council on Wednesday approved a $2.5 million settlement in a lawsuit brought against the police department after an officer pointed a gun at the chest of a three-year-old in a 2013  incident.

Aretha Simmons sued the city in 2014 over the execution of a search warrant, alleging Chicago police pointed a gun at the chest of her 3-year-old daughter when they raided her home in August 2013, Fox 32 reports.
 
Simmons said the girl also saw police violently shake Simmons and point a gun at the head of the girl’s grandmother. 
An expert later called the child’s trauma “one of the worst cases of child PTSD.”  A city lawyer also told the committee that the girl remains traumatized and will likely require psychiatric treatment into adulthood. 

The suit was set to go on trial earlier this year, but it was instead settled in February. The U.S. District Judge ordered the amount of the settlement to be kept confidential until it was released this week, WGN 9 reports.

The Chicago Police Department has faced criticism for their treatment of children during arrests. According to the Associated Press, a 2017 Justice Department report sharply criticized Chicago police for too often using excessive force, including against children. The city has since pledged to overhaul police procedures and training.