Carlishia Hood is suing the City of Chicago and five Chicago Police officers after she and her son were arrested for a deadly shooting that killed a 32-year-old man at a West Pullman hot dog stand.
Hood filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against the City of Chicago and the five officers involved in her arrest for malicious prosecution, false arrest and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“On June 18 of this year, my life changed. My son’s life changed,” said Hood, “I’ve experienced pain in many ways that I would never have thought never.”
Hood got into an altercation with Jerome Brown at a Maxwell Street Express on the 11600 block of South Halsted Street. Video of the alleged incident surfaced on the Internet that showed Brown repeatedly punching Hood in her face and head.
That’s when Hood, a valid FOID/CCL holder, ordered her son to shoot Brown with her weapon, which killed the man.
The lawsuit comes a day after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office dropped all charges against Hood and her 14-year-old son. The State’s Attorney’s office decided to drop them based on “continued review and in light of emerging evidence.”
Reports have stated that the “emerging evidence” was likely the video showing Brown assaulting Hood.
Hood and her son were cleared and released from custody, and an additional charge against her for contributing to the delinquency of a minor was also dropped.
Hood’s Arrest: ‘An Obvious Rush to Judgment’
Despite the outcome, the ordeal was traumatic, which Hood conveyed at a Tuesday press conference at a Bronzeville law office.
“What happened to me was totally unnecessary. Never in a million years would I have imagined being brutally attacked, beaten, and being arrested.”
Brandon Brown, one of Hood’s attorneys, said his client was not only wrongfully arrested but that her detainment was “an obvious rush to judgment.”
Her attorneys stated that she was brutally attacked “without provocation” by Brown.
The suit also takes issue with how she was arrested. It notes that Hood was detained by the arresting officers named in the case and charged with first-degree murder on June 21.
However, the suit alleges that the officers reviewed security footage from the incident and charged Hood even though they knew she did not commit any crimes and should not have been charged with first-degree murder or contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The lawsuit asserts that Hood was held in police custody overnight before one of the officers signed and filed the felony complaint for first-degree murder.
“…Defendant officers caused Carlishia Hood to be taken into custody under false and frivolous charges of First-Degree-Murder and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor,” states the lawsuit.
Moreover, under the False Arrest count, the suit alleges that the named officers arrested Hood without a warrant, probable cause or legal justification.
As a result of the false arrest, “Carlishia Hood was damaged, including the value of her lost liberty, exposure to public scandal and disgrace, damage to her reputation, mental and emotional suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, and anguish,” stated the filing.
Ultimately, according to her attorneys, what occurred to Hood was the intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit states that the arresting officers detained Hood “with the intent of inflicting severe emotional distress or with knowledge of the high probability that the conduct would cause such distress.”
During Tuesday’s press conference, Hood and her attorneys, Brown and Ari Williams, thanked Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for dropping the charges.
“We are praying for all the families affected by this horrible tragedy,” said Hood, “I am now in the process of healing and putting my family’s life back together.”