A settlement settlement has been reached within the first federal lawsuit alleging phony arrests by ex-Chicago police Sgt. Ronald Watts and his crew, a milestone that would have implications for the greater than 150 different Watts-related instances.
Ben Baker sued Watts and town in 2016, alleging Watts and his crew pinned bogus instances on him — and in a single occasion, his associate, Clarissa Glenn — in retaliation for refusing to pay Watts a $1,000 bribe. Baker spent about 10 years in jail earlier than his conviction was thrown out.
Attorneys for town reached a deal to settle with Baker and Glenn final month that’s pending approval by the Metropolis Council, in line with courtroom data. The agreed-on payout has not been disclosed, however solely payouts above $100,000 have to be authorised by aldermen.
It’s unclear when the council’s Finance Committee might contemplate the settlement. The committee’s common month-to-month assembly, scheduled for subsequent week, was canceled amid beautiful disarray within the metropolis’s annual price range proceedings.
The settlement, if authorised, would avert a trial that had been scheduled for early January. Baker’s case could be the primary federal go well with in opposition to Watts to go earlier than a jury, and was being watched as an vital litmus check for different instances.
There are roughly 175 different Watts-related instances but to be resolved in federal courtroom. Three have been scheduled for trial, although it’s attainable the Baker settlement is a sign that the opposite instances may additionally be resolved in need of trial.
A spokesperson for town’s Regulation Division declined to remark Friday on the Baker settlement or on the prospect of a common decision to all of the Watts instances, citing a coverage in opposition to commenting on pending instances. An legal professional for Baker additionally declined to remark.
The primary Watts-related case to settle was resolved over the summer season, when a lawsuit filed by Alvin Waddy in Cook dinner County courtroom reached an settlement. The Metropolis Council in the end authorised a $500,000 payout for Waddy.
The Watts lawsuits have the potential to be staggeringly costly for town. Other than no matter funds are made to the plaintiffs by way of settlements or jury awards, the prices to taxpayers are already piling up into the thousands and thousands as a result of town is utilizing a number of exterior legislation corporations to deal with the litigation.
Watts was arrested in 2012 together with one other member of his crew, Officer Kallatt Mohammed, for shaking down a drug courier who turned out to be an FBI informant. Watts acquired 22 months in jail and was launched in 2015.
Within the years since, Watts and his tactical officers have been accused of orchestrating a reign of terror on the Ida B. Wells housing mission, systematically forcing residents and drug sellers alike to pay a “safety” tax and placing bogus instances on those that refused.
Greater than 200 Watts-related convictions have since been thrown out, and the quantity of federal civil lawsuits filed in opposition to Watts and town has snowballed since Baker and Glenn filed their case in 2016.
The plaintiffs are nearly all Black males who lived within the Ida B. Wells advanced and had been aware of Watts and his crew. In case after case, the lawsuits allege that when Watts’ targets complained to the Police Division or in courtroom, judges, prosecutors and inside affairs investigators all selected to consider the testimony of Watts and different officers over their accusers, data present.
The instances additionally highlighted a damaged system of police self-discipline that allegedly protected corrupt officers and punished those that tried to show the corruption. Regardless of mounting allegations, Watts continued to function for years amid a prolonged police inside affairs probe in addition to investigations by the state’s legal professional’s workplace and the FBI, in line with courtroom data.
In actual fact, two Chicago cops who alleged they had been blackballed for attempting to show Watts’ corruption years in the past received a $2 million settlement of their whistleblower lawsuit.
Watts has denied wrongdoing in each lawsuit. He moved to Las Vegas after his launch from federal jail and has stored a low profile. Data present he presently lives in Arizona.
Final 12 months, Watts advised a conservative radio host throughout a prolonged interview that he spent his profession disrupting violent drug sellers and is now the sufferer of a smear marketing campaign by ex-criminals and attorneys attempting to money in.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
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