Cicero To Settle After CPD Buyback Gun Ends Up On Scene Of Fatal Police Shooting

CHICAGO, IL — A handgun turned over to police by a Cook County judge more than a decade ago as part of a gun buyback program ended up at the scene of a police shooting in Cicero, where taxpayers are set to pay out a $3.5 million settlement to the family of a 22-year-old man shot by an officer with a history of disciplinary issues, according to a report from the Better Government Association.

As a result of the investigation, the Chicago Police Department has opened an internal affairs investigation into how a .38 caliber revolver that should have been locked in an evidence locker and then destroyed ended up next to the body of 22-year-old Cesar A. Munive.

The attorney for Munive's family, Jon Loevy, claims Cicero Police Officer Don Garrity — who was subsequently promoted to detective before developing post-traumatic stress disorder — shot and killed Munive while he was unarmed and police later planted the gun to justify the shooting, according to the BGA investigation. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Garrity's lawyer denies the claim and investigators from the Illinois State Police stand behind their findings that Munive, a Latin Counts gang member with multiple past convictions, pointed the gun at police, the BGA reported.

Read more from the Better Government Association

Top photo: Gun buyback program | via Patch archive