Rekia Boyd was twenty-two when she was shot by a white off-duty Chicago, Illinois police detective. Much like Sean Elijah Bell, Amadou Diallo, and Trayvon Martin, he death came with a lot of questions.
Boyd was born on November 5, 1989, in Chicago, Illinois. She moved with her family from Chicago’s Southside to Dolton, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.
On March 21, 2012, Boyd was hanging out with friends at Douglas Park on the West Side of Chicago. The group was listening to music and drinking. Around 1:00 Boyd along with a few friends decided to make a trip to a nearby liquor store. During this time, Servin who was finishing up his shift on a second job and was off duty decided to go to a nearby fast food restaurant for a hamburger.
Servin drove to Douglas Park after a citizen called police about a noise complaint. Servin saw Boyd and her friends and later claimed they were arguing in an alley. It is unclear whether Servin approached the group aggressively or calmly. However, one of Boyd’s friends claimed the off-duty officer attempted to purchase drugs from the group. When he was told to “get his Crackhead ass out of here,” the officer pulled a gun, stuck it out the window and fired into the group. Boyd was hit in the head and killed instantly.
After the shooting, the Chicago Police Department defended Servin’s actions and arrested Cross. The Police Department claimed that Servin had discharged his weapon after Cross had approached him with a gun. Upon investigation, it was discovered that Cross was holding a cellphone.
In November 2013, Servin was charged with involuntary manslaughter but was cleared of all charges two years later on April 20, 2015, by Judge Dennis J. Porter following a non-jury trial. Servin later resigned from the police force and the Boyd family was paid $4.5 million dollars.
sources:
http://www.northstarnewstoday.com/history/police-beat/
2 Comments
We must not forget that we are prisoners of war and we are still at war with our enemy. Additionalky, it is not only black men who are in danger of being extinct. Black people of all ages and social status are in danger.
There are a lot of misconceptions in this article. The man that killed her is not white, he is a Mexican. He claimed that he shot over his should (if you can believe that) and shot Rekia Boyd, in the BACK OF HER HEAD, and the other man in his hand, claiming that he had a gun, when he only had a cell phone. Young people had been hanging on that corner for OVER 50 years, listening to music and dancing, and yes, they probably did have some alcohol. Servin, felt like they were keeping up to much noise and confronted the group. He was told to go on, Servin, became angry and that is when the shooting occurred. Servin, lived across the street from 15th and Albany, which is where the shooting happened. He lives in a beautiful two flat, with a side lot, and he still lives there, IN THE HEART OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY. He bought it from an elderly Black man. He kept coming around the man, talking to him, until the elderly man decided to sell it. Dennis Porter, the judge, let Servin, off because he said, he should have been charged with MURDER. The day after Boyd, what killed, I went around there to place some flowers on her memorial, but there was no memorial established for her. Why, I don’t know. Servin, remained on the police for a while, however, several days before he was to meet with the Police Board (they were going to fire him AND HE KNEW IT) he retired, thereby, securing his pension, which is over $70,000 per year. Additionally, it was said that he was drunk and he did not use his service gun, in the shooting and killing. McCarthy, who was the police chief at the time, said that Servin, never should have been arrested. He is now running for mayor. I talked to a few police officers that I know personally. They said the correct procedure, would have been for him to call the police, since he was off duty, but no, he took matters into his own hands and killed that beautiful, young, girl. Please, check out your information, before writing articles about it. I could say more, but hopefully, I have given you the TRUE circumstances of this tragic event.