A lawsuit has been filed against the Chicago Police Department after a 13-year-old boy, who is Black, was shot in the back earlier this month.
The boy, who was in the 7th grade, was shot by a Chicago police officer while  unarmed with his arms raised to surrender when he was struck, according to a lawsuit filed last week.
Police said the boy was involved in a carjacking nearby on May 18. When police tried to stop the vehicle the boy was a passenger in, he ran away from officers.
The boy survived the shooting, but according to the lawsuit, his family is waiting to learn if he will be able to walk again.
The name of the officer who fired at the boy has not been released. He was reportedly relieved of police duties.
The lawsuit names the officer and the city of Chicago as defendants, and seeks unspecified damages.
More about the officer-involved shooting and lawsuit can be found here.
Opinion: There is no evidence, so far, that the boy was involved in the alleged carjacking. Even if he was, shooting an unarmed person, especially a boy, is just plain indefensible. But, it’s Chicago PD we’re talking about, which has a history of issues with sketchy practices to say the least. How many lawsuits will it take for them to implement safer protocols for community policing?
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