Ohio
Akron to pay $4.8M to relatives of Black man killed by police
The family of Jayland Walker, a Black man killed when eight police officers fired 94 bullets at him after he shot at least one round out his car window, will receive a $4.8 million settlement from the city of Akron, the mayor’s office said Monday.
A grand jury declined to indict the officers last year, but Walker’s family accused the officers in a federal lawsuit of using excessive force and participating in a “culture of violence and racism” within Akron’s police department.
What began as a traffic stop on June 27, 2022, ended when Walker was shot 46 times in a hail of gunfire that upended the city with protests and heightened tensions with police. The investigation said police tried to stop Walker and then gave chase after seeing him driving with a broken taillight and a broken light on his rear license plate. Police said Walker refused to stop and then fired a shot from his car before fleeing on foot.
A city’s announcement of the settlement says talks continue with Walker’s family and the wider community on changing police procedures. The vehicle pursuit policy has been changed so that officers are not allowed to chase vehicles just for equipment violations.
The family’s lawyers said they would discuss the settlement once the court process is over. “There’s more to the settlement than money. The family accomplished meaningful policy changes with its litigation efforts,” said Bobby DiCello, a family attorney.
A state investigation found Walker, 25, jumped out of his still-moving car, ran from police and ignored commands to stop and show his hands. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Walker reached toward his waistband and raised a hand, so the officers chasing him believed he was going to fire again.
Attorneys for Walker’s family criticized the state’s investigation, saying it was skewed in favor of the police. DiCello disputed the state’s description of Walker shooting at police when he fired out his car window, saying the gun wasn’t pointed at anyone.
The eight officers who fired at Walker were put on leave and then reinstated to desk duty before returning to active duty, a police official said in February.
Ohio
Ex-officer stands trial in the 2020 shooting death of Black man
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A white former Ohio police officer has gone on trial Monday in the killing of Andre Hill, a Black man who was shot as he emerged from a garage holding a cellphone nearly four years ago.
Officer Adam Coy, a 17-year veteran of the Columbus police force, fatally shot Hill while responding to a neighbor’s noise complaint. Coy, who was fired after the Dec. 22, 2020, shooting, has pleaded not guilty to murder, reckless homicide and related offenses. Coy’s attorney, Mark Collins, has said the officer thought he saw Hill with a silver revolver in his right hand.
Jury selection in his trial began Monday.
Coy had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a resident’s complaint about noise from a running car when he encountered Hill.
Police body camera footage showed Hill emerging from the garage of a friend’s house holding up a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before he was fatally shot by Coy. About 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene began coming to the aid of Hill, who lay bleeding on the garage floor. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Weeks after the shooting, the mayor forced out the police chief amid a series of high-profile fatal police shootings of Black men and children. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill’s family, the largest in city history. Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to render immediate medical attention to an injured suspect.
Coy had a lengthy history of complaints from residents, with more than three dozen filed against him since he joined the department in 2002, according to his personnel file. A dozen of the complaints were for use of force. All but a few were marked “unfounded” or “not sustained.”
Coy’s legal team tried unsuccessfully to have the case moved out of Columbus, citing heavy publicity. A message was left for Collins, the defense lawyer, ahead of the trial.
Hill, a father and grandfather, was remembered for his devotion to family and as a skilled chef and restaurant manager who dreamed of owning his own eatery.
Georgia
County plans to sue company over chemical fire
CONYERS (AP) — A Georgia county is preparing a federal lawsuit that aims to shut down the BioLab chemical factory where a fire sent a toxic chemical cloud over Atlanta’s suburbs last month, the latest in a series of hazardous incidents that have forced many to evacuate.
“We want them gone,” Rockdale County Commissioner Sherri Washington said at a press conference Monday.
“For three weeks, I have listened to the numerous physical, mental, and emotional tolls that this company’s negligence has caused our residents,” she said. “And I will fight until my last breath to have them removed.”
Rockdale residents and business owners have filed more than a dozen lawsuits since the fire. The county plans to file its suit once commissioners approve a contract with a legal firm at their Tuesday meeting. Commissioners hope to hold BioLab and its parent company, KIK Consumer Products, accountable for negligence and misconduct, in part through remediation and compensation for damages to the affected areas and residents.
BioLab did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
BioLab, which makes pool chemicals, has operated in the county since 1973 and records show it is one of its biggest employers, contributing nearly 3% of the assessed value of the county’s tax base, larger than any other taxpayer in Rockdale, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
But accidents have repeatedly taken a toll, with hazardous incidents in 2020, 2016 and 2004 also forcing people to evacuate or shelter in place.
Last month’s fire at the plant in Conyers, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of downtown Atlanta, spread a strong chemical smell and haze across a wide area. Authorities ordered about 17,000 Rockdale County residents to evacuate and more than 90,000 people to shelter in place, forcing businesses to close and schools to cancel outdoor activities.
BioLab has said it will remediate the situation, and opened a Community Assistance Center last week for residents and business owners to file claims. A company statement says the center has assisted about 300 community members, and that a 24/7 company call center has helped more than 7,500 callers with claims and reimbursements.
Attorney Shayna Sacks from New York law firm Napoli Shkolnik, which is working with the county, said Rockdale is open to negotiations if they lead to “swift and just resolutions” that address the county’s concerns.
“Our goal is not only to address the immediate issue, but also to set a precedent that enhances corporate responsibility and accountability as it relates to our environment and community,” Sacks said.
Illinois
Longest-serving state legislative leader exploited the public trust, prosecutors say
CHICAGO (AP) — As the longest-serving legislative leader in American history, Michael Madigan repeatedly exploited his public role for private benefit, federal prosecutors alleged Monday during opening statements in Illinois’ largest corruption trial in years.
Madigan, Illinois’ House speaker for more than three decades and a former state Democratic Party chairman, is charged in a 23-count indictment with racketeering conspiracy, using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion. Among multiple schemes, he’s accused of using his influence to pass legislation favorable to utility companies that doled out kickbacks, jobs and contracts to Madigan loyalists in return.
“This is a case about corruption at the highest levels of state government,” assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker told jurors. “Madigan abused his power and used the organizations he led to engage in a pattern of corrupt conduct over and over and over again.”
Over two hours, Streicker gave an overview of the government’s case, presenting slides with photos and flow charts of key players accused in the schemes, handwritten Madigan documents and quotes from wiretapped conversations.
Madigan’s defense attorneys quickly batted down the accusations in their opening statement.
“She is relying on bad information. She is relying on unreliable sources. And she is relying on guess work and speculation,” said defense attorney Tom Breen. “You are going to hear some out-and-out lies.”
Instead, defense attorneys painted a picture of Madigan, who resigned in 2021, as devoted to his working-class legislative district on the city’s Southwest Side near Midway International Airport.
“He was in fact, incorruptible,” Breen said.
Madigan, 82, has maintained a low profile since he was indicted in 2022 and “adamantly” denied wrongdoing.
The Chicago Democrat — who is also an attorney — watched the proceedings intently, taking notes on a legal pad. Several of his family members attended and sat in the front row, including his daughter, Lisa Madigan, who served four terms as Illinois attorney general. She declined to seek re-election in 2018.
Opening statements began Monday afternoon after jury selection that lasted almost two weeks. Twelve jurors and six alternates were selected after extensive questions on the role of lobbyists, news consumption habits and familiarity with the man who was once the most powerful leader in Illinois politics.
First elected to the Legislature in 1970, Madigan was speaker of the state House from 1983 to 2021, except for two years when Republicans were in control. He set much of Illinois’ political agenda by deciding which legislation would be voted on and by controlling several campaign funds. He also oversaw political mapmaking.
Federal prosecutors allege he exploited those roles repeatedly to amass more power and money. He’s also accused of benefiting from private legal work illegally steered to his law firm.
“You will see how he was willing to trade public power to line his own pockets,” Streicker said.
Prosecutors also outlined a network of loyalists who helped run the schemes and conceal them.
Standing trial alongside Madigan is longtime confidant and co-defendant Michael McClain, who prosecutors called Madigan’s “mouthpiece.” The onetime state legislator and former lobbyist has already been found guilty in a separate, related case. Last year, federal jurors convicted McClain and three others of a bribery conspiracy involving ComEd, the state’s largest utility company.
Madigan’s trial is expected to last nearly three months. Jurors are expected to hear about 200 recordings and testimony, including from former Chicago Alderman Danny Solis, who was a cooperating witness for the government and secretly recorded conversations for years.
Much of the evidence has been previewed in open court. A sweeping investigation of public corruption has already produced convictions of legislators and Madigan’s former chief of staff.
Prosecutors said the recordings will illustrate Madigan’s role in the schemes. But defense attorneys, who played video clips of meetings of Solis during opening statements, said the former alderman is not to be trusted as he faced legal and financial troubles of his own.
McClain’s attorneys were expected to address jurors on Tuesday. He sat at a table separate from Madigan as he watched the proceedings Monday.
Akron to pay $4.8M to relatives of Black man killed by police
The family of Jayland Walker, a Black man killed when eight police officers fired 94 bullets at him after he shot at least one round out his car window, will receive a $4.8 million settlement from the city of Akron, the mayor’s office said Monday.
A grand jury declined to indict the officers last year, but Walker’s family accused the officers in a federal lawsuit of using excessive force and participating in a “culture of violence and racism” within Akron’s police department.
What began as a traffic stop on June 27, 2022, ended when Walker was shot 46 times in a hail of gunfire that upended the city with protests and heightened tensions with police. The investigation said police tried to stop Walker and then gave chase after seeing him driving with a broken taillight and a broken light on his rear license plate. Police said Walker refused to stop and then fired a shot from his car before fleeing on foot.
A city’s announcement of the settlement says talks continue with Walker’s family and the wider community on changing police procedures. The vehicle pursuit policy has been changed so that officers are not allowed to chase vehicles just for equipment violations.
The family’s lawyers said they would discuss the settlement once the court process is over. “There’s more to the settlement than money. The family accomplished meaningful policy changes with its litigation efforts,” said Bobby DiCello, a family attorney.
A state investigation found Walker, 25, jumped out of his still-moving car, ran from police and ignored commands to stop and show his hands. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Walker reached toward his waistband and raised a hand, so the officers chasing him believed he was going to fire again.
Attorneys for Walker’s family criticized the state’s investigation, saying it was skewed in favor of the police. DiCello disputed the state’s description of Walker shooting at police when he fired out his car window, saying the gun wasn’t pointed at anyone.
The eight officers who fired at Walker were put on leave and then reinstated to desk duty before returning to active duty, a police official said in February.
Ohio
Ex-officer stands trial in the 2020 shooting death of Black man
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A white former Ohio police officer has gone on trial Monday in the killing of Andre Hill, a Black man who was shot as he emerged from a garage holding a cellphone nearly four years ago.
Officer Adam Coy, a 17-year veteran of the Columbus police force, fatally shot Hill while responding to a neighbor’s noise complaint. Coy, who was fired after the Dec. 22, 2020, shooting, has pleaded not guilty to murder, reckless homicide and related offenses. Coy’s attorney, Mark Collins, has said the officer thought he saw Hill with a silver revolver in his right hand.
Jury selection in his trial began Monday.
Coy had gone to the neighborhood to investigate a resident’s complaint about noise from a running car when he encountered Hill.
Police body camera footage showed Hill emerging from the garage of a friend’s house holding up a cellphone in his left hand, his right hand not visible, seconds before he was fatally shot by Coy. About 10 minutes passed before officers at the scene began coming to the aid of Hill, who lay bleeding on the garage floor. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Weeks after the shooting, the mayor forced out the police chief amid a series of high-profile fatal police shootings of Black men and children. Columbus later reached a $10 million settlement with Hill’s family, the largest in city history. Columbus City Council also passed Andre’s Law, which requires police officers to render immediate medical attention to an injured suspect.
Coy had a lengthy history of complaints from residents, with more than three dozen filed against him since he joined the department in 2002, according to his personnel file. A dozen of the complaints were for use of force. All but a few were marked “unfounded” or “not sustained.”
Coy’s legal team tried unsuccessfully to have the case moved out of Columbus, citing heavy publicity. A message was left for Collins, the defense lawyer, ahead of the trial.
Hill, a father and grandfather, was remembered for his devotion to family and as a skilled chef and restaurant manager who dreamed of owning his own eatery.
Georgia
County plans to sue company over chemical fire
CONYERS (AP) — A Georgia county is preparing a federal lawsuit that aims to shut down the BioLab chemical factory where a fire sent a toxic chemical cloud over Atlanta’s suburbs last month, the latest in a series of hazardous incidents that have forced many to evacuate.
“We want them gone,” Rockdale County Commissioner Sherri Washington said at a press conference Monday.
“For three weeks, I have listened to the numerous physical, mental, and emotional tolls that this company’s negligence has caused our residents,” she said. “And I will fight until my last breath to have them removed.”
Rockdale residents and business owners have filed more than a dozen lawsuits since the fire. The county plans to file its suit once commissioners approve a contract with a legal firm at their Tuesday meeting. Commissioners hope to hold BioLab and its parent company, KIK Consumer Products, accountable for negligence and misconduct, in part through remediation and compensation for damages to the affected areas and residents.
BioLab did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
BioLab, which makes pool chemicals, has operated in the county since 1973 and records show it is one of its biggest employers, contributing nearly 3% of the assessed value of the county’s tax base, larger than any other taxpayer in Rockdale, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
But accidents have repeatedly taken a toll, with hazardous incidents in 2020, 2016 and 2004 also forcing people to evacuate or shelter in place.
Last month’s fire at the plant in Conyers, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of downtown Atlanta, spread a strong chemical smell and haze across a wide area. Authorities ordered about 17,000 Rockdale County residents to evacuate and more than 90,000 people to shelter in place, forcing businesses to close and schools to cancel outdoor activities.
BioLab has said it will remediate the situation, and opened a Community Assistance Center last week for residents and business owners to file claims. A company statement says the center has assisted about 300 community members, and that a 24/7 company call center has helped more than 7,500 callers with claims and reimbursements.
Attorney Shayna Sacks from New York law firm Napoli Shkolnik, which is working with the county, said Rockdale is open to negotiations if they lead to “swift and just resolutions” that address the county’s concerns.
“Our goal is not only to address the immediate issue, but also to set a precedent that enhances corporate responsibility and accountability as it relates to our environment and community,” Sacks said.
Illinois
Longest-serving state legislative leader exploited the public trust, prosecutors say
CHICAGO (AP) — As the longest-serving legislative leader in American history, Michael Madigan repeatedly exploited his public role for private benefit, federal prosecutors alleged Monday during opening statements in Illinois’ largest corruption trial in years.
Madigan, Illinois’ House speaker for more than three decades and a former state Democratic Party chairman, is charged in a 23-count indictment with racketeering conspiracy, using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion. Among multiple schemes, he’s accused of using his influence to pass legislation favorable to utility companies that doled out kickbacks, jobs and contracts to Madigan loyalists in return.
“This is a case about corruption at the highest levels of state government,” assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker told jurors. “Madigan abused his power and used the organizations he led to engage in a pattern of corrupt conduct over and over and over again.”
Over two hours, Streicker gave an overview of the government’s case, presenting slides with photos and flow charts of key players accused in the schemes, handwritten Madigan documents and quotes from wiretapped conversations.
Madigan’s defense attorneys quickly batted down the accusations in their opening statement.
“She is relying on bad information. She is relying on unreliable sources. And she is relying on guess work and speculation,” said defense attorney Tom Breen. “You are going to hear some out-and-out lies.”
Instead, defense attorneys painted a picture of Madigan, who resigned in 2021, as devoted to his working-class legislative district on the city’s Southwest Side near Midway International Airport.
“He was in fact, incorruptible,” Breen said.
Madigan, 82, has maintained a low profile since he was indicted in 2022 and “adamantly” denied wrongdoing.
The Chicago Democrat — who is also an attorney — watched the proceedings intently, taking notes on a legal pad. Several of his family members attended and sat in the front row, including his daughter, Lisa Madigan, who served four terms as Illinois attorney general. She declined to seek re-election in 2018.
Opening statements began Monday afternoon after jury selection that lasted almost two weeks. Twelve jurors and six alternates were selected after extensive questions on the role of lobbyists, news consumption habits and familiarity with the man who was once the most powerful leader in Illinois politics.
First elected to the Legislature in 1970, Madigan was speaker of the state House from 1983 to 2021, except for two years when Republicans were in control. He set much of Illinois’ political agenda by deciding which legislation would be voted on and by controlling several campaign funds. He also oversaw political mapmaking.
Federal prosecutors allege he exploited those roles repeatedly to amass more power and money. He’s also accused of benefiting from private legal work illegally steered to his law firm.
“You will see how he was willing to trade public power to line his own pockets,” Streicker said.
Prosecutors also outlined a network of loyalists who helped run the schemes and conceal them.
Standing trial alongside Madigan is longtime confidant and co-defendant Michael McClain, who prosecutors called Madigan’s “mouthpiece.” The onetime state legislator and former lobbyist has already been found guilty in a separate, related case. Last year, federal jurors convicted McClain and three others of a bribery conspiracy involving ComEd, the state’s largest utility company.
Madigan’s trial is expected to last nearly three months. Jurors are expected to hear about 200 recordings and testimony, including from former Chicago Alderman Danny Solis, who was a cooperating witness for the government and secretly recorded conversations for years.
Much of the evidence has been previewed in open court. A sweeping investigation of public corruption has already produced convictions of legislators and Madigan’s former chief of staff.
Prosecutors said the recordings will illustrate Madigan’s role in the schemes. But defense attorneys, who played video clips of meetings of Solis during opening statements, said the former alderman is not to be trusted as he faced legal and financial troubles of his own.
McClain’s attorneys were expected to address jurors on Tuesday. He sat at a table separate from Madigan as he watched the proceedings Monday.
