Attorney Al Hofeld announced that his clients have reached a $12 million settlement after 12-year-old Black boy was shot in the knee by a SWAT officer during a raid in May 2019 at their south suburban Markham, Illinois, home.
Hofeld said the settlement came with a public apology from Richton Park and the officer who shot Amir Worship. However, the family says the settlement is not enough.
According to CBS Chicago, nearly four years ago two dozen officers from Country Club Hills and Richton Park burst into the suburban Chicago home where Worship lived with his family to serve a warrant for the mother’s boyfriend around 5 a.m.
The officers aimed assault rifles at Amir and his mother in their bedrooms while yelling demands. Amir, then 12 years old, was shot in the knee by Officer Caleb Blood after complying to their demands.
The officer claimed that the shooting was an accident, but Amir is still suffering from PTSD from the event and is permanently disabled after his kneecap was shattered. His mother said he’s lost confidence in himself.
Amir, now 16-years-old, has undergone five orthopedic knee surgeries on his right knee and is expected to need knee replacements when he gets older.
“When he goes to put his flashlight back in his vest, and then returns his arm and his hand to the handle and the trigger of the gun, the gun discharges,” Hofeld said in a statement back in 2019. “But as soon as it was clear that this 12-year-old boy didn’t pose any threat and there was no one else in the room who posed any threat, he should have moved his gun down, put it on the safety position, so it could never be discharged.”
The mother’s boyfriend was wanted for drug possession and possession of weapon with an expired firearm identification card. Both charges were dropped.
Amir’s mother filed a lawsuit against the city of Country Club Hills, the village of Richton Park, and four police officers. Blood, the officer who shot Amir, was fired but no further action has been taken against him.
“The evidence obtained in discovery shows that officer Blood’s shooting of 12-year-old Amir was unconscionably reckless, and Officer Blood must be held accountable,” said Hofeld.
The family has called for Cook County State’s Attorney to reopen the investigation into Blood’s actions on the morning of the incident. The Illinois State Police did an investigation and Richton Park Police did two investigations, but neither found any wrongdoing in the three investigations that were conducted.
“The accidental shooting of innocent, 12-year-old Amir, which could have resulted in his death, should never have occurred,” read an apology in part from The Village of Richton Park. “We acknowledge the traumatic, physical and mental harm done to him and his family. We sincerely hope and pray that Amir and his family will fully recover, mentally and physically, and live long, healthy, and productive lives.”
