CHICAGO — The daughter of a man who died while detained at the Jefferson Park District police station last year has filed a lawsuit claiming negligence against the officers and detention workers who were on duty.
The lawsuit targets two officers, three detention aides and the City of Chicago, who attorneys claim lead "employees to believe their actions will never be scrutinized, thereby encouraging future abuses."
Just after midnight on June 2, 2015, Johnny Lopez was arrested in the 4100 block of West Eddy Street in Old Irving Park and charged with battery, according to Chicago Police Department records.
Lopez, 41, was brought to Community First Hospital and treated for dog bites before being taken to the police station at 5151, N. Milwaukee Ave., and locked in a one-person cell, according to a complaint filed Dec. 9 by Merary Lopez, Johnny Lopez's daughter.
Around 3 p.m., Lopez passed out in his cell, prompting another inmate to "bang on the door of his cell and yell" that Lopez needed help, the suit said. But officers ignored the man and "did nothing except pass out sandwiches to other inmates," despite their responsibility to "conduct visual inspections" every 15 minutes, the document continues.
A detective went into Lopez's cell at 8:04 p.m., the suit said. Lopez was then brought to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled Lopez's death an accident, calling it the result of "hypertensive cardiovascular disease" mixed with "recent cocaine use."
The lawsuit accuses the two officers and three lockup workers of "unreasonable treatment," saying they "failed to provide him with necessary medical attention." It repeatedly call their actions "unjustified and unconstitutional," in violation of the Constitution's 4th and 14th amendments.
The lawsuit focuses on the Chicago Police Department's leaders and culture, which "directly encourage ... the very type of conduct at issue here by failing to adequately train, supervise and control its officers."
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
A spokesman for the city's Law Department declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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