Lincoln Park shooting, robbery victim to file civil rights lawsuit against city over CPD policy

CHICAGO (WLS) — A civil rights lawsuit is expected to be filed Thursday against the city of Chicago on behalf of a man shot during a Lincoln Park robbery last May.

Nine months after Dakotah Earley was violently attacked in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, the young man still struggles.

“The road to recovery has been very long for him,” said Early’s attorney, Cass Casper.

Early was shot in May 2022 as he struggled with a gunman who knocked him down and fired at least three times.

Now, his attorneys plan to file a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Chicago Thursday. They argue the city’s police pursuit policy led to Earley becoming the target of violent thieves — thieves who had been on a crime spree of stolen vehicles and armed robberies for days.

At the time, Chicago police said nine incidents were connected between May 4 and May 6 — which was the day Earley was shot.

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“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.”

The now 24-year-old underwent several surgeries, had part of his leg amputated and is left with ongoing medical issues.

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“We are looking for the department, the city to consider what happened to Dakotah and rectify the over-correction it made with the pursuit policy,” Casper said.

Tyshon Brownlee, 19, has been charged in the attack on Earley and in four other armed robberies on the North Side.

The spokeswoman for the city’s law department told ABC7 Chicago they will review the lawsuit once served, and do not comment on pending litigation.

As for Earley, he is expected to speak on his own behalf Thursday at a press conference.

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