Chicago Cop who Killed Unarmed Female Bystander with Unregistered Firearm has Case Dismissed

A Chicago police officer on trial for the off-duty shooting of an unarmed black woman named Rekia Boyd has had his case dismissed by a judge.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the judge found Dante Servin not guilty and did not even make Servin defend himself in court against the charges, which is a highly abnormal decision. The judge was Dennis Porter. Porter claimed he threw out the case because the facts of the crime did not meet the charges.

Servin faced charges of involuntary manslaughter and the reckless discharge of a firearm. In reading his decision, Porter said that Servin's actions were more than reckless. It is unclear if this means the judge was suggested Servin should have been charged with murder, or if this is the end of the case.

After the announcement that the case had been thrown out, the courtroom was overwhelmed by emotion. Boyd's family began to cry as others present in the room called Servin a murderer and swore at him. Servin was followed from the court by a crowd angry that justice had been denied all the way to his car.

Servin's attorney said that he does not think Servin will be charged again because of double jeopardy, which means that a person cannot be charged with the same crime twice. At the same time, manslaughter is a different crime than murder, leaving a bit of a grey area.

In addition to shooting and killing Boyd, Servin also shot Antonio Cross in the arm.

The shooting is said to have taken place after Servin confronted Cross, Boyd, and two others about a get together they were having in a park near Servin's house. Servin said that he thought Cross had gun, but all Cross had was his cell phone. Servin also said that Cross "charged" at him. Servin's gun was unregistered, and Chicago has some of the stricted gun laws in the United States. 

The city has already paid Boyd's family $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit they brought against the city.