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Chicago Police Detective Charged in 2012 Shooting Death of Rekia Boyd

By  Erin Meyer and Emily Morris | November 25, 2013 11:06am | Updated on November 25, 2013 12:54pm

 Rekia Boyd was 22 when she was fatally shot by a Chicago cop in March 2012.
Rekia Boyd was 22 when she was fatally shot by a Chicago cop in March 2012.
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CHICAGO — Bond was set at $75,000 Monday for a Chicago Police detective who fatally shot an unarmed woman while off-duty in 2012.

Officer Dante Servin, 45, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and other felony charges in the killing of Rekia Boyd, who was 22 when she was shot in the head near Douglas Park on March 21, 2012.

Prosecutors said Monday that Servin was frustrated by a large block party happening in the area, and was confronting a group of people about the noise when the shooting took place.

It all started shortly before midnight on March 20 when Servin encountered the party near his home, prosecutors said. He called 911 at 11:45 p.m. and reported a "huge party, drinking, fighting, smoking [and] drugs" in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of South Albany Avenue.

"There are 200 to 300 people, and I'm afraid something bad is going to happen," he allegedly told the 911 dispatcher.

About 10 minutes later, strapped with an unregistered Glock 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun, Servin left to, "in his words, 'get a burger,'" prosecutors said.

As Servin was leaving his home, Boyd was walking with one other woman and two men out of Douglas Park, where they had been drinking and hanging out, prosecutors said.

Servin pulled in front of them at the mouth of an alley near Albany Avenue and 15th Street, prosecutors said. As Boyd and the other woman walked around the car, Servin spoke to the two men through his open car window.

"'Hey, you can be in the park and no one will call the police if you're quiet. People live here,'" Servin said, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said one of the men — later identified as Antonio Cross — was holding a cellphone.

Both men got hostile, prosecutors said. One allegedly told Servin to "move the f--- on."

Servin was leaving when, out of the corner of his eye, he said he saw Cross reach into his waistband and pull out a gun, prosecutors said. Servin told investigators the man pointed the gun at him.

Servin "hurriedly pulled his 9 milimeter from the holster with his right hand, raised it and pointed it across his body … and out the window," prosecutors said.

Servin told police he was aiming for Cross, but Boyd and her friends were only a few dozen feet away. Two of them ran for cover.

Boyd was "immediately struck" in the back of the head by one of Servin's shots, prosecutors said.

The two men ran. Boyd's female friend hurried to her side after she was hit.

Gun still drawn, Servin got out of the car and called 911. At about the same time, Cross and the other man were flagging down police at 15th Place and Kedzie.

Cross, a convicted felon, also suffered a gunshot wound when Servin started shooting, prosecutors said. Although Servin told investigators he thought Cross had a gun, no weapon was ever recovered.

But Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden told reporters after the Monday hearing that someone in the group did have a weapon. He claimed the truth would come out during the trial.

"It's a sad day when an officer is charged for doing something he was trained to do," Camden said. He insisted Servin was acting in self-defense.

Servin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless discharge of a firearm and reckless conduct, according to a statement from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Cross was initially charged with aggravated battery for the incident, but a judge dismissed the charge after Servin failed to show up to court.

Last March, the city agreed to a $4.5 million settlement with Boyd's family.

Cross also sued Servin in March, claiming the officer's actions were "extreme and outrageous" and "rooted in an abuse of power." Cross has previously accused Servin of being drunk when he fired the shots.