Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

After City Hides Evidence, Family Of Man Killed By Cops To Get $2.34M

By Heather Cherone | December 9, 2016 3:11pm
 Darius Pinex
Darius Pinex
View Full Caption
Family Photo

ENGLEWOOD — The city should pay $2.34 million to the family of a man shot to death in 2011 by Chicago police officers during a traffic stop, city attorneys recommended Friday.

Darius Pinex was shot to death after Officer Gildardo Sierra and Officer Raoul Mosqueda pulled the father of three and a friend over in January 2011.

The two officers testified during the wrongful death trial's lawsuit that they pulled over Pinex because his car matched a description of one seen at a recent murder scene.

However, a federal judge ruled in January that an attorney for the city intentionally concealed evidence during that trial. The judge overturned a jury verdict that cleared the officers of wrongdoing, and harshly criticized the city for concealing evidence from the Pinex family.

Jordan Marsh, senior corporation counsel for the city, resigned after acknowledging that he failed to turn over a police radio transmission that proved officers who shot Pinex did not actually hear what they said they did over the radio, which the officers pointed to as their reason for pulling Pinex over in the first place.

At the time of the judge's ruling, Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey called Marsh's conduct unacceptable. Marsh resigned after the judge's ruling.

Sierra, who was involved in two other fatal shootings, has resigned from the department. The city paid the family of another man shot to death by Sierra $4.1 million

A spokeswoman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel declined to comment. The settlement is expected to be approved by the City Council as soon as Dec. 14.

Steven Greenberg, an attorney for the Pinex family, said they were "ecstatic" with the decision by city officials to settle the case.

Greenberg said he believed the lawsuit had changed the way the city investigates police shootings and holds officers accountable for misconduct.

"It was not just the police that was doing the wrong thing, but also the city's lawyers," Greenberg said.

The judge also ordered the city to pay the Pinex family's attorney's fees, which are expected to top $1 million, the Tribune reported.

The case prompted city officials to hire former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb to conduct an independent investigation of whether the city's Law Department routinely concealed evidence or engaged in misconduct.

Webb's 5 ½-month investigation said the incident in the Pinex case was unique and was not part of a larger culture of wrongdoing. However, the report made 50 recommendations in how to improve the division's operations.

Watch the videos of the altercation between Pinex and the Chicago Police here. Viewer discretion advised.