CITY TO PAY $250,000 IN SUSPECT'S DEATH

A City Council committee Monday quietly approved a $250,000 settlement with
the mother of a West Side man who died last year in a struggle with
officers, including the son of a top Chicago cop.

The Finance Committee agreed to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by
the mother of Gregory Riley, 31, who died after a June 14, 1999, drug
arrest. The full City Council will consider the deal Wednesday, said
Jennifer Hoyle of the city's Law Department.

Riley died of asphyxia due to compression of the neck and chest, the Cook
County medical examiner's office ruled. Joseph J. Cecala Jr., attorney for
Riley's mother, Antoinette Scott, accused the officers of "choking" Riley,
while the police union argued the convicted drug dealer's "obesity" led to
his death. Riley was 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighed almost 300 pounds.
His blood contained morphine, and a packet of cocaine was in his stomach,
the medical examiner said.

Officer Daniel DeLopez, whose father is deputy superintendent Joseph A.
DeLopez, and Officer Mark A. Zawila were named in the suit. DeLopez and
Zawila were on drug surveillance at Kostner and Adams when they saw Riley
make about five deals, police said. Riley allegedly punched DeLopez in the
face and after a foot chase, the officers struggled with Riley to arrest
him, police said.

DeLopez told an investigator from the medical examiner's office that he put
a knee in Riley's back while another officer held his legs. Officer Michael
Santos, however, told the investigator that no one was on Riley's legs,
head or torso. Other officers handcuffed Riley, but he went limp and they
took the cuffs off, the report said.

An internal police investigation is continuing.

Riley's death came just over a week after unarmed motorists LaTanya
Haggerty and Robert Russ were killed in separate police shootings, sparking
weeks of City Hall protests. Three officers were fired and one was
suspended in the Haggerty case, and one officer was suspended in the Russ
case. Suits against the city are pending.

In July, the city agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a suit alleging that
Frankie Ann Perkins died in 1997 after an officer put a knee on her chest,
choked her and ordered her to spit out packages of cocaine.

The Riley case also is similar to the 1995 death of Jorge Guillen, who died
of asphyxiation after an officer used a three-point kneeling technique to
handcuff Guillen, putting a knee in his back, the other on the ground and
his hands free to hold his arms. The city paid a $637,000 legal settlement.