Family of Dexter Reed files federal civil rights lawsuit over his killing by Chicago police

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

A lawsuit filed by the mother of Dexter Reed contends he was killed by Chicago police officers who unlawfully pulled over his SUV last month and were "outrageously" aggressive as they approached him.

The lawsuit accuses Chicago police of promoting "brutally violent, militarized policing tactics," and argues that the five officers who stopped Reed "created an environment that directly resulted in his death."

Reed, 26, was driving in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand Street in Humboldt Park on March 21 when tactical officers in an unmarked car stopped his GMC Terrain. Video footage released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability shows the officers drawing their guns as they yelled for Reed to lower his window and open his door.

Reed failed to do either and, according to COPA, he opened fire and struck one of the officers in the wrist. The other officers then returned fire. As many as 96 shots were fired in 41 seconds.

The lawsuit doesn't mention Reed firing a gun. It suggests, without citing any evidence, that Reed became confused and afraid as the officers surrounded his SUV. "Dexter became flustered and ... mistakenly partially rolled up the driver's side window instead of rolling down the vehicle's other windows."

It says the officers "unloaded a barrage of bullets at Dexter while he was inside his vehicle," then continued shooting at him after he "exited his vehicle, unarmed, with hands empty and raised in sign of surrender."

It also notes that none of the five officers rendered first aid to Reed. "Eventually, other CPD officers who arrived at the scene immediately provided Dexter with chest compressions and other potentially lifesaving aid," the lawsuit states. "Their efforts came too late to save Dexter. He was pronounced dead later that day."

Civilian Office of Police Accountability

The five officers were members of a tactical, or plainclothes, team operating in the Harrison District on the West Side. The 81-page lawsuit cites what it calls a long and troubling history of such units, contending they have "intentionally preyed on Chicago’s young Black men in divested and low-income neighborhoods."

It cites a letter sent to Police Supt. Larry Snelling by the head of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability about the Reed shooting, voicing “grave concerns" about the officers' "ability to assess what is a necessary, reasonable, and proportional use of deadly force.”

In that letter, COPA chief Andrea Kersten also questioned why the officers stopped Reed, and suggested they may have been lying when they said they stopped Reed for not wearing a seatbelt. Kersten noted that the SUV's windows were tinted, making it hard for the officers to see inside.

But Kersten's office also concluded that Reed fired first. "Review of video footage and initial reports appears to confirm that Mr. Reed fired first, striking the officer and four officers returned fire," COPA said.

A gun, its magazine empty, was found inside the SUV, according to police sources.

The lawsuit describes Reed has having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, "and this condition adversely affected Dexter’s ability to work, to process and remember information, and to communicate."

It agues that the officers should have been aware of his potential condition and should have used more restraint during the stop.

"A reasonable officer would know that when stopping people in a neighborhood historically and culturally known for its heightened levels of police harassment and violent traffic stops, there is a strong likelihood that the individual lives with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms such as hypervigilance," the lawsuit argues.

"CPD stopped Dexter Reed, disregarded the likelihood of him living with PTSD, and escalated the encounter by violently detaining him, pointing their guns, and continuing to fire their guns at Dexter when he exited the car with his hands up," it states. "CPD officers could have provided a reasonable accommodation to Dexter at several moments, and they failed to do so at each of those moments.

"When (one of the officers) ordered Dexter to roll down his window and saw that he complied, she could have refrained from pointing her gun the moment Dexter became flustered and pressed the wrong button," the lawsuit states.

It argues that the officers' actions "created a confusing and chaotic environment and placed Dexter in objective fear for his safety and at risk of great bodily harm. None of the officers engaged in any type of de-escalation. Instead, they pointed their weapons at Dexter and used profane language in clear violation of CPD policy."

The lawsuit cites past studies of the department's use of tactical units and reliance on traffic stops and concludes that "Chicago Police Department leaders make a mockery of reform and refuse to comply with the most basic principles of constitutional policing."

It quotes from a recent analysis by the Free to Move coalition that found "Black drivers comprised 51.2% of people pulled over despite Black people making up less than 30% of the city’s residents. In contrast, over 32% of Chicago's population is white, and 13.6% of stops by CPD were of white drivers."

And it cites 2022 report by the Chicago inspector general that concluded “Black people were overrepresented — relative to their share of those stopped — in investigatory stops that lead to uses of force.”

The officers who stopped Reed, the lawsuit states, failed to identify themselves as police and shouted profanities at Reed while pointing guns at him, violating the Chicago Police Department's own policies about use of force that requires officers to “treat all persons with courtesy and dignity which is inherently due every person and will act, speak, and conduct themselves in a courteous, respectful, and professional manner.”

The lawsuit notes that the policy also urges officers to stabilize tense situations using time, distance and positioning but the five officers failed to do so.

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While the lawsuit describes Reed as having "lived with physical and mental disabilities," it does not offer many details.

Police records indicate Reed was in the throes of a mental health crisis when he attacked his uncle in August of 2021, leading his uncle to shoot him. Reed was left in a coma for weeks and struggled with his mental and physical health as he recovered.

In the years after Reed was shot by his uncle, he made his personal struggles well known on social media and in a slew of handwritten court filings. Once a standout basketball player, Reed was having a difficult time forging a new identity after his playing career ended.

The lawsuit notes that Reed was known as a "sweet and respectful young man" who loved "cooking healthy food for his family and aspired to be a sportscaster."

Andrew M. Stroth, an attorney with the Action Injury Law Group representing Reed's mother Nicole Banks, said the family hopes the lawsuit will "save the lives of others" and they are "committed to working with the mayor."

Both the city and the police department said they do not comment on pending litigation.