Richton Park reaches $12 million settlement with family of 12-year-old boy shot by SWAT officer in 2019 [The Daily Southtown, Tinley Park, Ill.]

Feb. 1—The family and attorneys for Amir Worship, the 12-year-old boy who was shot by a SWAT officer in his Markham home in 2019, announced Wednesday a $12 million settlement was reached in the case.

Attorney Al Hofeld Jr. said Wednesday the $12 million settlement will be paid by the village of Richton Park's insurance company, which has a $12 million limit. In an earlier settlement with other defendants in the case, Hofeld said the family received $322,000 for civil rights violations.

The lawsuit stemmed from a search warrant the South Suburban Emergency Response Team executed early morning May 26, 2019, at the home where Amir lived. The search warrant was issued for the then-boyfriend of Crystal Worship, Amir's mother, who also lived in the house.

During the search, Richton Park police officer Caleb Blood, a member of the emergency response team, shot Amir in the knee with a personal assault rifle, Hofeld said.

Crystal Worship was in the bedroom next door with police officers when she heard the gun shot and her son scream, Hofeld said. Crystal's other two son's had rifles pointed at them and one of them was handcuffed, he said.

"All eye witnesses, including Officer Blood, admitted that Amir was fully cooperative from the first moment they encountered him, that he followed all officer instructions, and that no officer at any moment ever received him as a safety threat of any kind," Hofeld said.

The settlement also required the village of Richton Park to issue a public apology as well as a private apology from Blood to Amir, who is now 16 years old, and his family. That happened over the weekend, Hofeld said.

"I accepted his apology, but that day he was reckless," Crystal Worship said. "I think he did it intentionally."

The public apology reads, in part, "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."

Since the shooting, Amir has been in a lot of pain and gone through difficult surgeries, Crystal Worship said. But, day by day, he's sleeping better and gaining his confidence back, she said.

"It's a lot of healing we have to do. There was a lot of sleepless nights," Crystal Worship said.

The settlement also requires Blood, who was ultimately removed from the emergency response team, to complete comprehensive use of force and firearm safety trainings, Hofeld said. While the family appreciates the terms of the settlement agreement, it is not enough, he said.

The family is calling on the Cook County state's attorney's office to reopen its investigation into the case to consider charges against Blood, Hofeld said.

"Officer Blood should be fired. He should've been fired three years ago," Hofeld said. "Not only has he not been fired, but Officer Blood has not even been disciplined in any form or fashion for shooting a 12-year-old boy."

Richton Park village attorney James Sotos said Blood was trying to help Amir put his shoes on when the gun discharged. Amir was not a threat to the officer at any point during the interaction, Sotos said.

"The young boy did nothing wrong by all accounts. This was a tragic accident," Sotos said. "The officer wasn't intending to shoot anybody."

Hofeld said his team gathered evidence over the past three years, finding the house was cleared of all safety threats to officers minutes before Amir was shot. When he was shot, Amir was sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing only athletic shorts, putting his shoes on as officers asked him to, Hofeld said.

"All eye witnesses, including Officer Blood, admitted that Amir was fully cooperative from the first moment they encountered him, that he followed all officer instructions, and that no officer at any moment ever perceived him as a safety threat of any kind," Hofeld said.

In a deposition, Amir stated Blood was pointing the rifle at the boy's upper body as they interacted. Amir said he was shot in the knee because he leaned back shortly before the shot to put his shoe on, Hofeld said.

Blood's defense to the shooting has varied, Hofeld said, from saying he believed the safety of the gun was secured and must have shifted without his knowledge to something getting caught in the trigger guard. The officer also made statements about multitasking — holding his unsecured assault rifle, handing the boy his shoe and putting away his flashlight — when the gun fired, Hofeld said.

Hofeld said his team obtained evidence and expert witness testimony to disprove the claims. A part of this work was having an expert take apart, put back together and shoot the officer's rifle and determining there were no issues with the safety switch or trigger.

"Our experts concluded that it was physically impossible for Officer Blood's rifle to have fired without the conscious and deliberate acts of Officer Blood in his finger moving the safety selector to the fire position, his arms and hands lifting and aiming the rifle at Amir and his finger pulling the trigger," Hofeld said.

Ultimately, Crystal Worship's now ex-boyfriend, who was the lone target of the raid, was arrested and charged with drug and gun possession. But, Hofeld said the case against the ex-boyfriend was dropped shortly before the family filed its lawsuit.

After the shooting, Blood was placed on a 30-day leave and underwent a mandatory psychological training, Hofeld said, but then remained on active duty. In June 2022, Blood requested to be put on desk duty, he said.

Sotos confirmed Blood is still employed with the department, but not on active patrol.

Three investigations into the shooting — by the Richton Park Police Department, the village of Richton Park and the Illinois State Police — "don't pass the laugh test," Hofeld said. Blood was not interviewed by any of the agencies that held investigations, he said, and none of them recommended discipline or training.

Sotos said the Illinois State Police investigation was thorough and found the shooting was an accident. Based on that investigation, Sotos said the Cook County state's attorney's office has declined to press charges.

Since the shooting, Amir has had five surgeries, including a knee replacement, Hofeld said. Medical experts in the case have stated that Amir will require full knee replacement every 15 years, which will also require physical therapy after each surgery, he said.

Before the shooting, Amir was an active kid who loved to play basketball and football, Hofeld said. Now, a junior in high school, Amir can't play sports, can't ride his bike and avoids trips to the mall with his friends because its difficult to walk for long periods of time, Hofeld said.

He's experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, has been bullied because of the way he walks or having to wear a brace, and experiences anxiety around police officers. To this day, Hofeld said he has nightmares about the police hurting his brothers and loud noises give him flashbacks to the night he was shot.

"This huge part of his childhood was taken from him," Hofeld said.

___

(c)2023 The Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.)

Visit The Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.) at www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.