Cook County Jury Awards $10.5 Million for Bystander Killed in Unauthorized Chicago Police Chase

On April 13, 2018, three Chicago police officers riding in an unmarked car began chasing a motorist over a traffic violation on the city's North Side. They never radioed a supervisor, a step the department's own pursuit rules require before a chase can continue. The pursuit ran more than a mile and a half and reached speeds near 90 miles per hour, with the fleeing car traveling the wrong way down a one-way street.

Tuong Lam, 61, was driving through the area with no connection to the pursuit. The fleeing vehicle slammed into his car. Rescue crews had to cut him out of the wreckage, and he suffered fatal internal bleeding. He lived for roughly 17 minutes after the impact.

The driver who fled, Jusef Wofford of West Rogers Park, was initially charged with reckless homicide, possession of a stolen vehicle, and aggravated fleeing. He pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI about four months after the crash and was sentenced to nine years in prison. The civil case, though, centered on the officers rather than the driver, and on whether the City should answer for a chase its own policies did not permit.

William T. Gibbs and Michael D. Ditore of Corboy & Demetrio represented Lam's estate in Cook County Circuit Court. At trial they argued that the officers ignored the chase protocols the department had written to prevent exactly this kind of death, and that running a high-speed pursuit over a minor traffic offense was never authorized. The City countered that the three officers in the unmarked car were trying to warn the public and had broken no rules.

The jury rejected that defense. After deliberating a little over three hours, the panel returned a unanimous verdict of $10.5 million against the City of Chicago. "We're pleased the jury held the City responsible for their reckless actions," Ditore said. "The evidence was clear that the officers violated the Chicago Police Department's own rules that were designed to prevent tragedies like this."

The verdict was returned in August 2023. The City of Chicago appealed, but in March 2026 the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District affirmed the $10.5 million judgment in full, with no reduction or remittitur.