What happened to Rekia Boyd?

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Rekia Boyd, was a 22-year-old African-American woman born on November 5, 1989, in Chicago, Illinois. She moved with her family from Chicago’s Southside to Dolton, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. She was fatally shot on March 21, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois, by Dante Servin, an off-duty Chicago police detective. Boyd was hanging out with friends at Douglas Park on Chicago’s West Side at a party listening to music while having a few drinks.  Around 1:00 am, Boyd and some of her friends walk to a nearby liquor store. Around that same time, Servin who was just finishing his shift on his second job was off duty, heading to a 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.  Whether Servin calmly approached Boyd and her friends or was rude and aggressive is still debated.  He approached a group of four individuals who had been partying in the park and had some form of verbal altercation with them. Reports are unclear as to whether Servin was calm and polite or rude and aggressive. One of the victims, Antonio Cross, accused Servin of attempting to buy drugs from the group, to which Cross allegedly told Servin to get his "crackhead ass" out of there. Dante Servin fired on the group, hitting Rekia Boyd in the head, and Antonio Cross in the hand. Initially the Chicago police department claimed that Servin had discharged his weapon after Cross had approached him with a gun. The Boyd family quickly responded that the object was in fact a cell phone. No weapon was ever recovered from the scene. 

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In November 2013, Servin was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but was cleared of all charges on April 20, 2015, by Judge Dennis J. Porter in a rare directed verdict  Porter's reasoning was that since the shooting was intentional, Servin could not be charged with recklessness. "It is intentional and the crime, if any there be, is first-degree murder," said Porter in his ruling. Attorney Sam Adam, Jr., accused state prosecutor Anita Alvarez with deliberately undercharging Servin knowing that the charges would be dropped, in order to curry favor with the police department. Servin claimed he fired because someone in the group was holding a gun, but it was actually only a cellphone. Witnesses said that Servin appeared drunk at the time of the incident. In November 2015, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police superintendent Garry McCarthy both suggested that Dante Servin should be fired by the Chicago Police Board. The city paid $4.5 million to Boyd's family. Servin resigned on May 17, 2016, two days before the departmental hearing which was to decide whether he should be fired. 

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What can we do?

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1.     Sign the petition for justice for Rekia Boyd

 

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2.     Contact Chicago district Attorney Kim Foxx demanding justice for Rekia Boyd through the prosecution of Dante Servin.

(312) 603-1880, statesattorney@cookcountyil.gov