Lincoln Park

Lawsuit Filed by Man Critically Wounded in Lincoln Park Attack Blames CPD's Non-Pursuit Policy

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A lawsuit filed by a former culinary student against the Chicago Police Department and Mayor Lori Lightfoot alleges that CPD's non-pursuit policy is to blame for a shooting attack in Lincoln Park last year that left him critically wounded.

Dakotah Earley, 24, sustained gunshot wounds to the head and back during a brazen attack in the 1300 block of West Webster Avenue last May.

The lawsuit alleges police could have apprehended the perpetrator prior to the attack, as he was engaged in several robberies leading up to the shooting of Earley.

More than a week later, the gunman, Tyshon Brownlee, was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Earley, in addition to armed robbery.

According to Earley's attorneys, Chicago police officers had been in pursuit of Brownlee, who was traveling in a stolen vehicle, earlier in the evening, but terminated the chase due to the department's non-pursuit policy.

The policy was implemented after a 37-year-old woman was struck and killed by a CPD vehicle in the midst of a pursuit while traveling through a green-lit intersection in June 2020, according to the Chicago Tribune.

"The City of Chicago government, Superintendent Brown, Mayor Lightfoot, they created an increased danger that Dakotah Earley would be a victim of this crime when they passed the non-pursuit policy," attorney Cass Casper told NBC 5.

Chicago police declined to comment on the lawsuit, adding that the Department of Law will review the suit and that the department does not comment on pending litigation.

"If the police had continued their pursuit of Mr. Brownlee and his stolen BMW, it would have prevented this entire chain of events and the disaster that happened to Dakotah," Casper said.

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