
A Chicago theater owner has announced a $500,000 settlement with the state over his company’s handling of a fatal shooting in April.
James O’Keefe, the former editor of the conservative website InfoWars, said Thursday that the theater in the Midway neighborhood was to blame for a fatal police shooting last year that left an unarmed black man dead.
The Chicago Tribune, citing court documents, reported Thursday that O’Neill, the owner of the theater, settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed in February against him by the state of Illinois and its former police chief.
The lawsuit alleged that the former chief violated a state law against excessive force when he shot the unarmed man in the back after the two exchanged gunfire in an alley.
Police said the officer shot O’Neills son, 18-year-old Jordan O’Neal, after O’Neil opened fire in an apartment complex.
O’Malley said the shooting was justified and the officer should have known that Jordan was armed with a gun.
O’Neal was pronounced dead at the scene, but O’Reilly said the teen was shot several times and died a few hours later at the hospital.
Orense said in a statement that the boy’s death was a tragic and tragic accident.
The state and the Chicago Police Department have both maintained that Orenses son was unarmed when he opened fire.
A judge dismissed the lawsuit in April after Orens son was found to be wearing a jacket that had been modified with a holster.
Orense and his attorneys said the suit was politically motivated.
The city paid the settlement for a total of $5.8 million.