This week, the taxpayers of Chicago were told they would be footing the bill-to the tune of $2.5 million-to pay for an excessive force lawsuit that accused police of holding a 3-year-old little girl at gunpoint while beating her handcuffed mother.
The lawsuit stems from a search warrant carried out in the home of Aretha Simmons in 2013. During the raid, according to the lawsuit, the entire family was severely abused and the 3-year-old suffered severe mental trauma - labeled by an expert as "one of the worst cases of child PTSD" he's seen.
On August 29, 2013, Chicago police executed a search warrant at an inner-city Chicago home in hopes of finding a drug dealer. Cops barged in the home of 3-year-old Davianna Simmons where she lived with her grandparents' and mother Aretha Simmons. An officer pointed and held a loaded gun at point-blank range to the chest of 3-year-old Davianna, reports
The News and Observer.
During the raid, according to the lawsuit, not only did Simmons allege that police threatened her small daughter with a gun, but she said the girl saw police violently shake and strike Simmons and point a gun at the head of the girl's grandmother.
According to the lawsuit, while officers were searching the home, Davianna saw and heard an officer damaging and destroying her dolls, other toys and bedroom furniture.
Comment: Maybe this is a good time to study what happened in Ukraine with the Maidan protests? Just in case.