New video shows Roseland teen run over by Chicago police SUV after two officers get out; family demands $2.1M settlement
On Wednesday afternoon, The TRiiBE obtained exclusive, never-before-seen video footage of the moments leading up to a Chicago Police Department (CPD)-marked SUV rolling backward over a 14-year-old girl in May 2020 during the start of summer-long uprisings in reaction to the police murder of George Floyd.
Security camera footage from a nearby Seaway Bank at 11116 S. Michigan Ave. shows then-14-year-old Astarte Washington following demands from CPD officers to lie on the ground. As she does, the footage shows CPD Officer Christopher Holmes and a second unnamed officer jumping out of their moving patrol SUV, which then began to roll backward while unmanned. The police SUV’s front and back tires rolled over Washington as she lay in the street.
(WARNING: Sensitive video content below)
Astarte suffered injuries to both legs and was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center. Today, she has permanent tire marks on areas of her body and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She continues to experience difficulty in her legs, limiting how much time she’s able to play sports such as basketball, her attorney said.
CPD never charged Astarte with a crime, her attorney said.
Astarte’s family attorney, Robert Fakhouri, obtained the footage from Seaway Bank and shared it with The TRiiBE. The video is being used as evidence in the Washington family’s civil lawsuit against the city, which was first filed on June 26, 2020, charging “willful, wanton and reckless disregard for the safety of others.”
During Officer Holmes’ deposition this week, according to Fakhouri, CPD claimed a “mechanical defect” caused the police SUV to roll backward over Astarte. However, he said the Seaway Bank security footage debunks CPD’s claim.
“At his deposition, he testified that he remembers moving the gear shift towards the park position, a little bit of a distinction. [There’s] still no admission that he failed to put the vehicle in park and that’s despite a video showing otherwise,” Fakhouri said.
Following Holmes’ deposition, Fakhouri and Astarte’s family today filed a settlement demanding the city pay $2.1 million to settle the matter.
“My message to Mayor [Lori] Lightfoot and [CPD] Supt. [David] Brown is to put this case behind this little girl and compensate her for the injuries that she sustained,” Fakhouri said about Astarte’s case. “Do not let her be dragged through this court process when they know they’re responsible, when they know they caused the injury and when they know that when they cause injury, they’re responsible to their citizens.”
On Wednesday afternoon, The TRiiBE has reached out to CPD, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Office and the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) asking for the name of the other officer in the SUV with Holmes, whether Holmes is still on the force today, and whether COPA is investigating.
CPD Chief Communications Officer Don Terry responded with, “This incident is an open BIA investigation. We cannot comment on ongoing investigations.” The BIA is the Bureau of Internal Affairs. According to CPD’s website, the BIA investigates, documents, and reviews allegations of misconduct by members of the Chicago Police Department.
Fakhouri said Holmes is still on the force.
“The notion that that vehicle was placed into park is a farce, and the idea that two years after this incident, the city is going to take that position is shocking. It must be known because video unequivocally proves otherwise,” Fakhouri told The TRiiBE on Wednesday.
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After being rolled over by a CPD SUV, 15-year-old Astarte Washington fears the police and doesn’t want to leave her house, family says
Astarte Washington grew up trusting and admiring the police. Now, her mother says, she wants “nothing to do with them.”
According to the complaint filed against CPD, Astarte and her brother were walking from their grandmother’s house in the 9700 Block of South Yale Avenue to their home on the 130th block of East 120th Place on May 31, 2020, the third day of the uprisings in Chicago.
Just before 3:00 p.m., Fakhouri said Astarte and her brother encountered a group of people protesting and looting on 111th and Michigan.
Cellphone video from witnesses surfaced on social media after the incident. In one of the videos, a witness said the CPD officer hopped out of the police SUV without placing the vehicle in park. In another video, people are yelling and cursing at the CPD officers who banded their bodies together to form a barricade to block off the scene. Initially, people took to social media looking for updates on the young girl, because many thought she had died as a result of the incident.
When The TRiiBE initially reached out to CPD about the incident, a spokesperson said:
“Officers were responding to the 11100 block of South Michigan Ave on May 31st, 2020, at approximately 2:51 p.m. for reports of looting in the area. Upon arrival, an officer exited his vehicle to assist another officer in need of help. He then observed his vehicle rolling backward, injuring one officer and one juvenile civilian who were in the street. A 16-year-old female was transported by ambulance to Christ Hospital, where she was treated and stabilized. The injured officer was also taken to Christ Hospital in good condition. The incident was documented in a traffic crash report. An investigation has been opened into this incident.”
The TRiiBE first reported Astarte’s name and her condition after Fakhouri reached out with the information.
Today, Astarte is a sophomore at George Washington Carver Military Academy on the far South Side. At the time of the incident in 2020, she’d just completed eighth grade at W.E.B. DuBois Elementary School, where she was student council president and the basketball team captain.
Fakhouri said Washington’s dreams to play basketball after elementary school ended in 2020.
“For her, solitary confinement and being at home and not being able to play sports caused her so much pain, and so much depression and heartache,” he said.
