City lawyers call for $22M payout to family of man killed in police crash
City attorneys are recommending aldermen approve a $22 million settlement for the family of a 25-year-old man killed in a car crash that occurred while police were chasing someone else.
Attorneys representing the estate of Angel Eduardo Alvarez Montesinos say police recklessly violated department rules by pursuing a fleeing car that fatally struck him in North Lawndale.
Aldermen will weigh the costly settlement Wednesday, one of the first they will consider this year after approving a record sum in such deals last year that, combined with court verdicts, approached $500 million.
Aldermen will also consider an $875,000 deal to settle a lawsuit filed by Black Lives Matter protesters who allege police violated their constitutional rights during the May 2020 protests.
If aldermen approve the Montesinos settlement, $2 million will be covered by the city’s insurance, while taxpayers will pay the rest.
The lawsuit names three officers involved in the chase: Erik Arroyo, Carolyn La Placa and Michael Spilotro III. The officers failed to stop the car as it sped through intersections and did not follow the department’s strict rules on tank chasing, according to court records.
Officers were pursuing a Hyundai sedan driven by Martin Shuntrel, then a minor, according to the lawsuit.
Shuntrel — who had stolen the car and did not have a license — reached speeds close to 90 miles per hour before the car crashed into Montesinos at the intersection of South Independence Boulevard and Roosevelt Road. The Montesinos estate also sued Shuntrel and his parents.
Court records related to the Black Lives Matter protesters’ trial show they accused police of “brutal, violent and unconstitutional tactics” that were “clearly designed to harm and silence protesters.”
The lawsuit also accuses former Police Commissioner David Brown, also a defendant, of lying about how he and his department handled the protests. It includes photos of dozens of injuries sustained by protesters, apparently at the hands of police.
