A south suburban Chicago family filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming a SWAT officer shot a 12-year-old boy in the knee while executing a search warrant at the family's Markham home.
According to the civil suit filed by Crystal Worship against the City of Country Club Hills, the village of Richton Park and the officers involved in the raid, SWAT officers executed a drug warrant at Worship's house at about 5 a.m. on May 26.
"Our lives changed behind this," Worship said. "It will never be the same."
Worship’s attorney, Al Hofeld, Jr., said the officers quickly secured and cleared the home of any threats, including the bedroom of Worship's son, Amir. At some point, though, Hofeld said an officer guarding Amir shot the pre-teen in his knee.
"Police shot 12-year-old Amir as he sat on the edge of his bed with his hands up," Hofeld said at a news conference Thursday.
Hofeld said Amir and his 13-year-old brother, Eric, fully cooperated with police when the officers entered the home and never posed any threat.
"I just feel so sad that this happened to him," Worship said.
Worship said she doesn't understand why the safety on the officer's gun was off around her son.
"You have a police officer pointing his assault rifle at a 12-year-old child minutes after the area has been secured and there is no reason to do so," Hofeld said.
Besides "fair compensation" for the family, Hofeld said the lawsuit seeks to "see this police practice of pointing guns at young children changed."
Police agencies named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to NBC 5's request for a comment.
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