Three years ago, the family of a Black mother struck and killed by a car being pursued by Chicago police was awarded $10.2 million by a Cook County jury, but the city appealed the verdict and was granted a new trial and the family never received a dime. Now the city is close to settling with Stac y Vaughn-Harrell’s family for almost three times the original amount – $27 million – to avoid facing another jury. What changed?  The family of Stacy Vaughn-Harrell (left), a mother of six who was killed after her car was struck by another car being chased by Chicago police, is close to receiving a $27 million settlement after new evidence exposed a coverup. (Photos: Salvi, Schostok Pritchard) Turns out, it was another cover-up by Chicago police revealed through newly obtained body camera footage showing the cops initially denying they were pursuing the car that killed Vaughn-Harrell — acting as if they had nothing to do with her death. “The cover-up was wide,” said Lance Northcutt, the attorney from Salvi, Schostok Pritchard, the law firm representing Vaughn-Harrell’s family, during a press conference this month where he showed the body camera footage to reporters. “The coverup was systemic. The coverup was not part of the first trial, but will be in the second. Make no mistake about it.” ‘Nobody Would Call’: White Man Does Experiment on Racism, Walks Into City Hall and Dares Officials to Explain Why He Got a Pass, But a Black Man Was Killed And if it goes to trial, the city may wind up having to pay more than $100 million to the family, Northcutt told reporters. “The evidence that the jury didn’t hear in the first trial will be presented now. And the litigation risks that the city faces are enormous.” Even city attorneys are acknowledging that the new evidence could be detrimental to their case if it goes before a jury. “Since the first trial and subsequent appeal, new factual allegations have come to light that required substantial reevaluation,” John Hendricks, a senior lawyer for the city’s law department, told local media. Northcutt also accused the cops of violating departmental policy and delaying aid to the victims as they conspired to cover up their involvement in the fatal crash. “We underwent an extensive investigation, including a forensic review of every piece of evidence, electronic, forensic, and otherwise to determine what really happened, who knew what and who did what,” Northcutt explained. ‘We Weren’t Even Chasing Them’ The incident took place shortly after 1 a.m. on June 24, 2017, as an unmarked Chicago police car began chasing a Kia SUV through a residential neighborhood, believing its occupants were involved in a shooting. The driver of the pursued SUV originally had come to a stop when pulled over before taking off after a passenger exited. The family’s claim says two police cars were pursuing the Kia, led by the unmarked one with no sirens activated and just its emergency lights on as it reached speeds of 60 mph while the Kia ran several stop signs during the pursuit. The family maintains CPD policy requires the lead chase car to be a marked vehicle. Meanwhile, Vaughn-Harrell, 47, was driving with her 21-year-old daughter, Kimberlyn Myers, when the Kia ran a stop sign and slammed into their car, killing the mother and leaving the daughter with serious injuries. Both cops witnessed the crash, the video shows, but then slowed down and activated their lights. “They know there’s been a catastrophic crash because they just saw it happen,” Northcutt told reporters as he narrated the video during the press conference.”  “But now  they’re making it look as if they just happened to be in the area, just happened upon an accident.” As they step out of the patrol car, one of the cops tells a dispatcher, “we weren’t even chasing them.” And the cover-up continued as more cops arrived and began turning off their body cameras or not turning them on. “We found out that a supervising lieutenant actually told the pursuing officers to turn off their bodycams,” Northcutt told reporters. “Our forensic review found instances where you had officers whispering to make sure the body cameras were turned off.” “In one video that we were able to uncover, we hear a police officer say, ‘that’s why you don’t chase,’” Northcutt continued.  But that cop never mentioned the pursuit in his report. “No activation of body worn cameras which as a jury would hear is not only a violation of policy, it’s a violation of the law,” Northcutt explained.  “If you intentionally deactivate your body-worn cameras in an effort to conceal evidence, it can rise to the level where a police officer is decertified or sometimes even charged with a crime.” “We could conceivably be in a trial where the city of Chicago would not be able to defend on liability based on this misconduct,” Northcutt predicted. The two people in the fleeing Kia SUV were never caught. ‘Explosive Evidence’  As it did with the Dexter Reed case – where Chicago cops fired 96 rounds in 41 seconds during a minor traffic stop – the Chicago Tribune editorial board published an opinion piece early Wednesday morning urging the city council to reject the $27 million settlement – evidently unaware of the new evidence that was presented later that day. After the Appellate Court upheld the order granting a new trial, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Law Department has decided to settle the case for $27 million. You read that right. City lawyers have opted to give the plaintiffs $17 million more than a jury granted them in a trial the courts determined was unfair to the city. Absent a major behind-the-scenes legal setback that has yet to be explained publicly by the Johnson administration, the Finance Committee ought to reject this proposed settlement and force city lawyers back to the negotiating table — or perhaps back to the courtroom. But the editorial board has yet to acknowledge the new evidence. Chicago Alderman Nicholas Sposato, who apparently discussed the case with city lawyers, was also bewildered. But Northcutt is confident the evidence he uncovered would make it a slam-dunk case if it goes before a jury. “We’ve heard chirping from an editorial board and at least one alderman that have reduced this question into soundbites, spoken sound bites as if this entire case were that simple,” Northcutt said. “The evidence that would be heard by the next jury is absolutely nothing like the evidence that was heard by the first jury, and putting aside the explosive evidence that we found since we became involved in this case, which was after appeal, that changes the game.” Hendricks, the Chicago senior attorney, agrees that it would be best for the city to avoid going to trial. “Given the substantial new evidence that would be presented at trial, the Department of Law believes the recommended settlement is in the best interest of the taxpayers.” On Friday, the city council finance committee approved the $27 million settlement. On Wednesday, the city council will decide whether to approve it. Watch Northcutt’s press conference below. ‘Coverup Was Systemic’: Chicago Cops Caught Lying About Chase That Killed Black Mother of Six After New Video Evidence Emerges— and It Could Cost Chicago $27 Million ...read more read less