Committee OKs $32M settlement for man who lost legs following police chase

CHICAGO (WGN) — The city council’s finance committee on Friday approved a multi-million dollar offer to settle a lawsuit filed the family of a man who lost both of his legs after a crash stemming from a police chase and rejected a second offer to settle a suit filed in connection with a deadly officer-involved shooting.

Alders approved $32 million to settle the suit filed by Bryce Summary and his wife. The St. Louis man was visiting Chicago in 2022 when he was struck by a driver who was fleeing police officers. The lawsuit alleged the police officer violated department rules by pursuing the driver.

Summary underwent a double leg amputation as a result of the crash and has faced expensive medical bills. Funds to cover the settlement will come from two sources: $20 million from the city’s coffers and another $12 million from a city insurance policy.

The full city council will now consider the settlement offer when they meet April 16.

Earlier, the committee blocked an offer to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of Dexter Reed, a Chicago man killed by police during a traffic stop last year.

Members voted 12-15 in rejecting the proposed $1.25 million settlement. The family’s lawsuit argues that police officers had no right to stop Reed in the first place and then used excessive force when the first shot was fired.

An investigation and autopsy showed that plainclothes Chicago police officers fired their guns nearly 100 times at Reed, striking him 13 times.

The settlement offer originally went up for a vote in February but was delayed due division among alders. While some felt settling the suit would have been cheaper than trial costs, others felt the city shouldn’t settle because Reed allegedly fired at police first.

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) told WGN that without the settlement, the city will likely have to fight the case in court. The Chicago Tribune, citing a city attorney, put the cost at about $5 million for legal fees and up to $5 million more if the city fails to prevail.

Finance committee members also approved a $750,000 settlement to a woman who was injured in a fall on a Lincoln Park sidewalk.