Chicago Cop Charged in Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Rekia Boyd Heads to Trial

Friends and family at a rally remembered Rekia Boyd Saturday as a trial date looms for the Chicago police detective accused in her fatal shooting, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The officer, Dante Servin, was charged with involuntary manslaughter after, prosecutors say, he recklessly opened fire, over his shoulder, at a group of people on March 21, 2012, fatally wounding 22-year-old Boyd. The trial, postponed from an October start date, is now scheduled to begin April 9.

The charges against Servin, also accused of reckless discharge of a firearm and reckless conduct, were the first time in more than 15 years that a police officer has been charged in Chicago in connection with a fatal shooting, the report says. He was placed on paid desk duty and stripped of his police powers.

The city of Chicago paid $4.5 million to settle the wrongful death suit filed by Boyd’s family. But that has been of little solace to them. Her brother Martinez Sutton, 32, told protesters Saturday that he’s still looking for answers in her death, the Tribune writes. “They say that her death was justified,” he said at the rally, the news outlet writes. “Her death was justified. Man. How? What did Rekia do? That’s what everybody asks me. And I’m still trying to find out. Because talking to everybody that was involved, I get the same answer. Nothing. So why is she dead?”

The Tribune says that Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez reportedly feels strongly that Boyd “lost her life for no reason.” But Servin’s supporters say he reacted in line with his training and was protecting himself.

Read more at the Chicago Tribune.