A 3-year-old will be receiving $2.5 million in settlement money after officers pointed a gun to her chest and assaulted her handcuffed mother in front of her.
On Wednesday, Chicago’s city council approved the amount of settlement money for an incident that took place back in 2013. In 2014, Aretha Simmons, the child’s mother, sued the city over the execution of a search warrant. The woman claimed police pointed their guns at the chest of her toddler when they raided her home.
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Reports show, police violently shook the girl’s mother, struck her and also pointed a gun at the toddler’s grandmother. The incident emotionally and mentally damaged the girl so badly an expert called the child’s trauma “one of the worst cases of child PTSD.” The medical official added the girl will likely need psychiatric assistance into her adulthood, according to Fox 32.
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The lawsuit was settled in February but was originally supposed to go on trial this year. The court released the amount in settlement money last week under the U.S. District Judge order.
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The Chicago Police Department has a long history of police brutality, particularly with children. According to a 2017 Associated Press report, the Justice Department ridiculed Chicago for its inhumane treatment of citizens. The city pledged to reexamine how police handle procedures and enforce more thorough training measures.
