Disparti Law Files Federal Lawsuit Against City, CPD on Behalf of Dakotah Earley

On May 6, 2022, Dakotah Earley was walking down the street in Lincoln Park when he was viciously attacked and shot three times, twice in the head and once in the back. Earley was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and endured hours of surgery to save his life. During the surgeries, there were times when Earley faded away and had to be resuscitated. Since that day, Earley has had 13 different surgeries including surgery to amputate his leg on his 24th birthday, and endured countless hours of rehabilitation.

Earley was shot by 19-year-old Tyshon Brownlee who, with friends, had been on a three-day violent crime spree through the streets of Chicago. During that spree, Brownlee stole a late-model BMW equipped with a GPS tracking device. But due to a recently enacted “no pursuit” policy, Brownlee was enabled to continue his crime spree despite many instances when the police department had reports of the vehicle’s location.

On February 9th, the legal team at Disparti Law Group filed a lawsuit in federal court against Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Superintendent David Brown, the City of Chicago, and the Chicago Police Department. The suit alleges that the grave trauma that occurred to Earley could have been prevented had the policy not existed.

“They created a situation where rank and file police officers felt hamstrung in pursuing folks engaged in criminal activities,” Casper said. “You’ve got a GPS tracking device on a stolen vehicle. I’m not a police officer, but presumably, someone could have used that information to track exactly where it was and put a stop to the guys.”

To download the complaint, click here.
To contribute to Dakotah Earley’s GoFundMe page, click here.

See the press coverage here…

CBS 2 Chicago

• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WCAET95M-pQ
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7190QiqAUdc
• https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/dakotah-earley-lawsuit/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/family-sues-city-after-dakotah-early-is-left-paralyzed/

NBC 5 Chicago

• https://www.nbcchicago.com/top-videos-home/man-critically-wounded-in-lincoln-park-attack-sues-city-cpd/3068595/

ABC 7 Chicago

• https://abc7chicago.com/lincoln-park-chicago-shooting-robbery-dakotah-earley/12790248/
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FDbVHlEzXSA

WGN Chicago Channel 9

• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FtYvzZXvieI
• https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/im-in-good-spirits-says-chef-who-survived-brutal-lincoln-park-attack-in-first-public-comments/

Fox 32

• https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/dakotah-earley-sues-city-of-chicago-over-police-pursuit-policies-after-violent-lincoln-park-shooting

Chicago Tribune

• https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-dakotah-earley-federal-lawsuit-non-pursuit-cpd-20230209-b7i3ojfivnf53dyubatonacuz4-story.html

Sun Times

• https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2023/2/9/23592938/shooting-victim-dakotah-earley-sues-chicago-police-pursuit-policy

Block Club Chicago

• https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/02/09/dakotah-earley-who-was-nearly-killed-in-lincoln-park-sues-city-and-police-for-not-preventing-the-attack/

CWB Chicago

• https://cwbchicago.com/2023/02/dakotah-earley-robbed-and-shot-in-lincoln-park-will-sue-the-city-and-chicago-police-department-report.html