CITY HALL — A powerful alderman derailed a resolution Monday calling on the city to seek a quick settlement of a wrongful-death suit in the police shooting of Bettie Jones.
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) pushed for the city to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit filed on behalf of Bettie Jones, a woman who was "accidentally" shot and killed by police the morning after Christmas last year.
Yet Ald. Edward Burke (14th), chairman of the Finance Committee considering the resolution, moved Monday to send it to a subcommittee, saying, "Verbiage needs to be addressed."
RELATED: What To Know About the Police Shootings of Bettie Jones, Quintonio LeGrier
Ervin's resolution states that Jones "was responding to a knock on the door or a ring of her doorbell when a [Chicago Police Department] officer shot a barrage of bullets through the door."
Ervin, however, was accepting of the delay on Monday and said he believes Burke will eventually push it forward.
"I would like it to be done fast," Ervin said. "But I think this opens up the ability to look at everything. I think it's well worth waiting to look at settlements in general."
According to Ervin, Burke is agreeable to that.
"He and I have had conversations about this," Ervin added. "He understands the challenges that we face in the 11th District," the Harrison District on the West Side.
"Trying to create calm in our community is of the utmost importance," he said.
Even the initial Chicago Police report on the shooting acknowledged Jones had been "accidentally struck and tragically killed" by police answering a 911 call. That caller stated that Quintonio LeGrier, who was also killed by officers, was acting erratically and swinging a baseball bat in the building his father shared with Jones on the 4700 block of West Erie Street.
The shooting has drawn scrutiny in the wake of the Laquan McDonald case, including the release of 911 calls placed that morning by LeGrier himself.
The resolution "strongly urges the mayor and the corporation counsel to settle the lawsuit filed by Bettie Jones' daughters as soon as possible." Yet the rapid response sought was put on the slow track Monday.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
