Cynthia Lane, mother of Roshad McIntosh, says her lawsuit over McIntosh’s fatal shooting by police in August is a quest for answers. “I would just like to know why, why did they shoot my son?” she said Wednesday. (Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune)
Tears streamed down Lane’s face Wednesday as she stood in the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where her lawyers announced a federal wrongful-death lawsuit alleging the police killed McIntosh without justification and have since conspired to cover it up.
“I would just like to know why, why did they shoot my son?” Lane said in a voice choked with emotion.
McIntosh’s killing in August was one of the first shootings by Chicago police officers after an unarmed black teen was fatally shot by police in Ferguson, Mo., sparking nationwide anger over the use of force by law enforcement against black youths.
After McIntosh’s shooting, protesters marched through the streets of Chicago’s Lawndale community, claiming he was unarmed and surrendering to police when officers opened fire — similar to claims made by relatives of Michael Brown in Missouri.
According to the lawsuit, which names as defendants the city and two “John Doe” police officers, McIntosh was “enjoying a summer evening” in the 2800 block of West Polk Street when police officers jumped out of their cars with weapons drawn and chased him into a nearby backyard.
McIntosh, who was unarmed, surrendered, but the officers opened fire anyway, “killing him without cause or provocation,” the lawsuit alleges.
But police accounts from that night told a vastly different story. Gang enforcement officers responding to a call of armed men on the block spotted people matching descriptions they had been given, and one of them began running when officers approached, according to a statement from the Police Department.
At least one officer gave chase, police said. As Mcintosh ran through a gangway and onto a rear porch, he took out a weapon and refused the officer’s order to drop it, police said.
“The offender then … pointed his weapon in the direction of the officer,” according to the police statement.
“You got an offender with a gun. Instead of dropping the gun and surrendering, he points the gun at the police, and the officer has no choice,” said Pat Camden, a spokesman for the police union. Police recovered a 9 mm handgun at the scene, he said.
McIntosh was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.
His mother said Wednesday that her life had “changed dramatically” since that night, but she hopes the lawsuit will finally get her some answers.
Meanwhile, she has found both solace and sadness in raising her grandson, now 3, who will grow up never knowing his father.
“He gives me the strength to keep fighting and to try to get justice,” she said.
The lawsuit, brought by the People’s Law Office, also alleges civil rights violations, claiming the Police Department’s policies and practices have led to the racially motivated shootings of black men across the city and a “police code of silence” when it comes to investigating and disciplining its own.