The City Council’s Finance Committee voted 10-9 to endorse the settlement, which now heads to a final vote at the full City Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday. In all, the City Council will consider paying $8.5 million to resolve four lawsuits that allege a wide range of police misconduct.
The shooting was reviewed by the Independent Police Review Agency, which was replaced by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability in 2017, and deemed justified.
Bernard Kersh, whom police had stopped for drinking in a CTA bus shelter, said Officer Jerald Williams seriously injured him when he slammed him to the pavement. Kersh said the incident exacerbated an eye injury, resulted in a concussion and injured his shoulder. In addition, the Finance Committee voted 18-3 to endorse a proposal to pay $750,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a 61-year-old man who was seriously injured during a 2018 police pursuit.