Man Sues Chicago Police for Crash With Squad Car That Killed Brother

The brother of a man killed in a crash with a Chicago police squad car in April has filed a lawsuit against the officer and city of Chicago.

The suit, filed Friday by Dennis Burris in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of his brother, Jack Burris, seeks more than $50,000 in damages.

Jack Burris, 66, was driving west in a 1998 Honda when he collided with an unmarked Chicago police squad car shortly after 10:40 p.m. April 3 at Michigan Avenue and 105th Street in the city's Roseland neighborhood, according to Chicago police.

He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the Chatham neighborhood.

The squad car had its emergency lights activated at the time of the crash as the officers responded to a call of shots fired, police said.

The suit disputes that, and says the officers were speeding through the residential neighborhood without their lights or sirens active and drove through a stop sign.

The officer who was driving “failed to obey the stop sign or adequately slow down to verify the intersection was clear before proceeding into the intersection,” according to the suit.

The suit also seeks unspecified damages for the period of pain and suffering Jack Burris endured before he died, as well as medical and funeral expenses.

A representative for the city declined to comment.

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