(WTTW News)
A Chicago man is suing the city and a half dozen police officers, accusing them of using excessive force after he was shot multiple times and left paralyzed from the waist down following a traffic stop last year.
Raymond Comer, 38, filed a seven-count civil suit in Cook County court late last week in which he claimed he was shot by a Chicago police officer multiple times as he sat inside a vehicle last August.
“We are very proud to represent Raymond Comer and our team will show that these officers had absolutely no justification for the deadly use of force used against him,” attorney Antonio Romanucci, with the law firm of Romanucci & Blandin, said in a statement.
According to the lawsuit, in the early afternoon hours of Aug. 12, 2022, a CPD officer was viewing a live video feed from a police observation device when the officer saw Comer, who was standing with a group of people in the 2100 block of West Adams Street.
The complaint states the officer believed he saw a firearm in Comer’s possession and informed officers close to the scene, who arrived as Comer went to move a friend’s vehicle. According to the lawsuit, Comer never held or pointed a weapon at anyone — his hands were instead on the steering wheel and driver’s side door — but an officer exiting an unmarked vehicle fired at least 11 shots, striking Comer multiple times.
After shooting, the officer retreated behind another squad vehicle and told Comer to “stop reaching,” according to the lawsuit.
Comer sustained gunshot wounds to his “mid back, his left flank near the rib cage and on his upper arm at the bicep,” the complaint states, and was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
The lawsuit accuses six officers of willful and wanton conduct, and includes a count of battery against the officer who fired at Comer. A spokesperson for Chicago’s Law Department said Tuesday the city had not yet been served with the complaint and does not comment on pending litigation.
“While this suit will not bring back Raymond’s ability to walk,” Romanucci said, “we will hold the Chicago Police Department accountable for their actions and, hopefully, bring awareness to the urgent need for police department reforms both in Chicago and across the country.”
