Lawsuit names officer who allegedly shot Pierre Loury
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - The mother of Pierre Loury has named two officers allegedly involved in the teen’s fatal April police shooting in a new court filing Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
Tambrasha Hudson first sued the city and unnamed officers over her 16-year-old son’s death last month. She has now filed an amended complaint targeting Officers Sean Hitz and Jeff Riordan by name. Hitz was the officer who fatally shot Loury, according to the document.
The new complaint also mentions the possibility that Mayor Rahm Emanuel could be called to testify about the alleged “code of silence” at the Chicago Police Department if a lawsuit set for trial next week goes forward.
The lawsuit alleges Hitz and Riordan approached Loury around 7:40 p.m. April 11 while he was in a car in the 3400 block of West Grenshaw. Loury got out of the car and ran, and the officers pursued him until he reached a fence and began to climb over it. That’s when Hudson’s lawsuit alleges Hitz shot Loury in the torso and killed him. Riordan did nothing to stop Hitz, the lawsuit alleges.
Hudson’s complaint also alleges Hitz and Riordan conspired to give a false account of the shooting to cover up their misconduct — claiming Loury “placed them in imminent fear of bodily harm.”
A law enforcement source has said Loury picked up a gun that fell from his waistband as he tried to scale the fence. Video posted to social media after the shooting appeared to show Loury’s clothing had become snagged on the fence as he tried to jump it.
In the hours after his death, conflicting portraits emerged of Loury, who allegedly ran from a car that matched the description of a car that had been involved in a shooting earlier that evening.
“But for the belief that they would be protected, both by fellow officers and the department, from serious consequences, Defendant Sean Hitz and Defendant Jeff. J. Riordan would not have engaged in the conduct that resulted in the shooting and death of Pierre Loury,” Hudson’s lawyers wrote.
A spokesman for the city’s law department declined to comment.