A chance collision at a stoplight on Chicago’s South Side last March started a chain of events that first led to frustration, then shock for an NBC5 Responds viewer.
Ella Peters says her car was rear-ended by a driver who got out of his car and refused to speak to her, until police arrived.
When Chicago police officers got to the scene, Peters says they said to her, “He’s one of ours.” A statement she didn’t comprehend.
“I’m like okay….is he a police officer? A city worker?” Peters questioned.
Because the other driver listed the City of Chicago as his insurer on the accident report, Peters sent her claim directly to the city. Her car sustained about $1,700 in damage to the bumper and rear panels, she says.
Weeks went by with no answers.
“I’m calling and I’m calling and I’m calling,” she told NBC5 Responds.
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No reply, she says, until a letter arrived in the mail: claim denied. The reason listed: “City of Chicago is not liable for damages (sic) done by a private vehicle.”
So if that driver was not working for the city at the time of the accident, why did he list the City of Chicago as his insurer? That is where things got tricky.
NBC5 Responds tracked the home address listed for the driver back to a controversial spot: the Homan Square police facility, which has been in headlines recently, linked to allegations of abusive tactics and secret detentions. When the City and Chicago Police were about the accident, they revealed the other driver was an on-duty CPD undercover officer. CPD acknowledged the paperwork related to the accident was not handled properly, and that Peters’ claim should have been paid immediately.
At her home in Burbank, Peters was relieved to get the $500 deductible she paid in this case. She said she was disturbed to learn the driver who hit her and refused to speak with her was also someone trained to protect her.
“You’re an officer. I look up to you more than just anybody,” she told NBC5 Responds.
For obvious safety reasons, NBC agreed to not reveal the identity of the CPD undercover officer, whose real name should not have appeared in that police report. CPD apologized to Peters for the mix-up.
