$1.75 million settlement reached of woman found hanged at South Side police station

Brian Rich/Sun-Times file photo

Chicago taxpayers will spend $1.75 million to compensate the family of a 33-year-old woman found hanged inside a police holding cell on the South Side.

Irene Chavez was arrested in December 2021 for simple battery after an incident at the of Jeffery Pub in South Shore.

The $1.75 million settlement, on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the City Council’s Finance Committee, will resolve a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the sister of Chavez.

That lawsuit claimed the 10 officers involved in the arrest denied Chavez basic medical care after she repeatedly asserted she was a veteran dealing with PTSD, and an officer escalated the tension after aggressively shouting at Chavez.

"Irene Chavez died because CPD officers failed to recognize her humanity, refused to accommodate her mental illness and refused to treat her as if her life mattered," Sheila Bedi, the attorney representing sister Iris Chavez, said at the time it was filed.

She was accused of spitting on one employee and punching another after they tried to escort her out of the bar, according to testimony recorded on body camera footage released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Bar employees told officers Chavez became irate when told she could not use the jukebox because a DJ was performing.

The bodycam video showed a worker telling officers Chavez punched him in the face after he tried to remove her from the bar. Another worker is heard saying she spat on him as he tried to restrain her.

As officers were taking the employees’ statements, Chavez could be heard on the video repeatedly stating she needed a witness and a chance to share her side of the story and did not want a male officer searching or restraining her.

As a female officer searched Chavez, she and a male officer standing nearby exchanged profanities.

“There is no justice in our system,” Chavez shouts out.

When officers told her she was being taken into custody, she asserted her actions were “self-defense.”

As Chavez was driven to the Grand Crossing police station, she could be heard singing “You are my sunshine” as officers sing along, laughing.

The arrest report claimed Chavez was “belligerent,” during processing, repeatedly yelling: "It was self-defense. ... I’m a veteran, I have PTSD. Talk to my therapist."

Chavez was placed in a holding cell about 12:20 a.m., according to time-stamped body camera footage.

Officers took off one handcuff and instructed her to hand over her shoelaces and any jewelry.

About 1:05 a.m., Chavez yelled, “This isn’t funny!” and threw her boot at the window of the holding cell, the report said.

Chavez then was silent for five minutes, prompting an officer to check on her through the window, where he saw her kneeling on the floor.

Footage shows Chavez’s T-shirt tied around her neck and connected to a hook on the wall. One officer called out for someone to get EMS, then entered the cell and began slapping the side of Chavez’s stomach, saying “wake up, wake up.”

He untied the shirt and Chavez fell to the ground. An officer immediately started chest compressions.

An officer went outside to check on an ambulance, but when emergency personnel arrived, they told officers they needed to go back for more supplies.

“They thought it was just a psych eval,” the officer told a superior inside.

“Could they take any f- - -ing longer,” a female officer responded.

A few minutes later, paramedics arrived. Before transporting her, they told officers they couldn't find a pulse, the police report said.

On the day the lawsuit was filed, Bedi played the bodycam video capturing the final moments of Irene Chavez’s life. As the video played, the dead woman’s sister clutched her chest, peered closer to the screen and later wiped tears from her eyes.

Bedi claimed the officers had "multiple opportunities to protect Irene" by taking her to a hospital "instead of arresting her" or by securing "mental health services" when she arrived at the police station.

COPA has not yet published its final summary report on the incident, which would include any recommended disciplinary action against the officers involved.

On Wednesday, Andrew M. Stroth, an attorney representing the Chavez, family said of the settlement: “Nothing will bring back Irene Chavez. This family lost their daughter, their sister. The actions of police officers that evening resulted in her tragic death. It’s the family’s hope that this never happens to anyone again."