Black Man Wins $750,000 in Court After Police Body Slammed Him.

While the Chicago Police Department claimed Kersh spit on the officer, both former Superintendent David Brown and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) determined the takedown violated CPD policy and qualified as “massively excessive force.” Kersh filed a civil rights lawsuit in February 2020, alleging he suffered a concussion, shoulder damage, and worsened vision from the brutal take-down. Although he pleaded guilty in November 2021 to misdemeanor battery (related to the altercation), he consistently denied spitting or licking the officer, maintaining the plea was a strategy to avoid jail time. Following a judge’s finding that the city had withheld key evidence— including a 2020 letter from Superintendent Brown—Chicago’s Finance Committee endorsed a $750,000 settlement in July 2023. #bodycam #chicago #police