$1.25 Million Settlement Recommended For Man Struck During Chase

EVANSTON, IL — Aldermen are set to pay $1.25 million to a renowned choral director who sued the city after he was struck by a car being chased through Rogers Park by Evanston police more than three years ago.

Paul Caldwell was crossing Sheridan Road in a crosswalk with the pedestrian walk signal activated on the night of April 3, 2016, according to his suit.

As he crossed the road, the 52-year-old was struck by a blue Ford Focus that had just fled a traffic stop at the intersection of Howard and Paulina streets in Chicago, police and attorneys said.

Available records do not specify the reason for the stop, but lawyers for both Caldwell and the city acknowledge it was for a minor traffic offense. His lawsuit said officers Kyle Popp and Pedro Carrasco did not turn on their lights or sirens, nor did they radio the chase in to dispatchers.

Caldwell was left critically injured after being struck, according to the Chicago police report of the incident. His attorney said he suffered multiple fractures of his arm and leg, with his leg requiring three surgeries. His lawsuit said the incident left him disabled and led to large medical bills and lost income.

At the time of the crash, Caldwell was artistic director for Windy City Performing Arts in Chicago and the Youth Choral Theater of Chicago. Just a few weeks earlier, the award-winning composer, who has conducted concerts of his work at Carnegie Hall in 2014, had been announced as the artistic director of the Seattle Men's and Women's Choruses, the largest community choruses in America.

Caldwell's left leg was caught in the wheel well and rotated three times, and his arm was shattered, he told the Seattle Times. When he was knocked to the pavement, his head was cushioned by a satchel of sheet music he happened to be carrying that night, he recalled.

At the time of the suit's initial filing, Caldwell's attorney told the Daily Northwestern he broke his nose, but the satchel he had been carrying after volunteering as a music director for a choral group at a nearby church likely saved his life.

For two months, Caldwell recovered in a nursing home and required 24-hour care for a while, according to the Times. He would use a wheelchair for five months.

“There have been days when you really wish the car had just killed you because it’s too hard and overwhelming,” Caldwell told the Times in December 2016. Still, he remained grateful just to have survived. “I’m the luckiest man alive because I am alive,” he said.

Although Caldwell was not hit by a squad car, the two-count complaint filed on his behalf nearly a year after the incident holds the city accountable. One count alleges "willful and wanton misconduct" during the police chase. The other accuses the city of disregarding the safety of the public by failing to enforce proper police pursuit policies and procedures.

The lawsuit argues that Evanston police had substandard policies and procedures for vehicular pursuits, which the city denies. The city "knew that its police officers were engaging in reckless pursuits" but "did not enforce its policies and procedures," failing to test, monitor or retrain officers on its car chase policy, the complaint states. The department has not provided a copy of that policy, identified in court documents as General Order 12.1.

According to the suit, "the safety of pedestrians and drivers and occupants of motor vehicles, including [Caldwell], is at risk when [Evanston's] police officer employees are encouraged to initiate police chases and pursue suspected traffic violators without first being knowledgeable of safety procedures and regulations, and without first undergoing sufficient training, periodic testing and monitoring."

A response submitted on behalf of Evanston by Assistant City Attorney Alexandra MacKey Ruggie said no actions by the city or its officers caused Caldwell's injuries. In fact, Caldwell was "guilty of the following acts of negligence or omissions, which contributed to cause his own injuries," according to the city.

The city said Caldwell failed to properly cross a road, "failed to take proper evasive action to avoid impact with a vehicle ... suddenly and without warning entered the path of a vehicle ... was otherwise careless, negligent and failed to use due care and caution for his own safety," among other things.

The response admitted that a patrol car tried to pull over a blue Ford Focus for a minor traffic violation, and that the car fled north on Paulina Street, then east on Jonquil Terrace and south on Sheridan Road. But the city's attorneys denied that the officers "encountered numerous parked cars, moving cars and pedestrians during their pursuit" and "violated traffic laws, including failure to stop at the stop signs and speeding."

The city also denied that the traffic signal was red for southbound cars but said it did not have enough information to know whether the pedestrian walk signal was active. Its response also said it could not be sure whether Walker was the driver.

Despite those denials, lawyers for the city and the officers filed an additional complaint in March 2018 against the woman who owned the car, claiming she gave permission to Walker to drive the car and should have known that he was "incompetent, inexperienced, reckless, impaired or otherwise unfit to drive and operate the Ford Focus." The additional party complaint against the car owner was withdrawn in September 2018. The filing also conceded the light was red at the time, contradicting the city's earlier denial.

The Evanston Law Department refused to provide a copy of the proposed settlement or answer questions about the case.

According to Chicago police, Walker was arrested six days after the incident in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. In that incident, he was charged with aggravated fleeing of police, driving on a revoked license, resisting police, criminal trespassing to a vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, domestic battery and battery. He was also ticketed for running a red light and stop signs.

On July 18, 2016, Walker was also charged in connection with Caldwell's injury, according to Chicago police. His charges included driving with a revoked or suspended license, without insurance, aggravated fleeing of police, failure to report an accident with injuries and failure to give information or provide aid.

Walker has been in state prison since June 2017 following convictions for aggravated fleeing of police, aggravated battery to police and failure to report an accident resulting in a serious injury. According to court records, he pleaded guilty in June 2017 to two counts related to the hit-and-run in exchange for a sentence of six years in prison and three years supervised release. He is due to be paroled in April 2021.

Evanston city staff recommended aldermen approve a negotiated $1.25 million settlement agreement, which is not an admission of liability on the part of the city or its officers. The money will come from the city's insurance fund, according to a memo from Corporation Counsel Michelle Masoncup. More details will be available if aldermen vote to approve the payment.