Officer Who Fatally Shot Derek Jordan ‘Came In Unjustifiably Hot,’ Attorney Says In Filing Lawsuit

HUMBOLDT PARK — The family of a 42-year-old man shot and killed by Chicago police in March is now suing the city and the officer involved, accusing the officer of escalating the situation before it turned fatal.

Law firm Romanucci & Blandin announced the lawsuit Monday on behalf of the family of Derek Jordan, who was shot and killed March 9 by Chicago Police Officer Max Walzer.

Officers had spotted Jordan driving a car wanted in connection to a shooting earlier that day on the Eisenhower Expressway near Oak Park, according to the lawyers. Jordan fled the attempted stop by police and was later boxed in the mouth of an alley between a CTA bus and police car.

Despite being pinned in, Walzer yelled “Get out of the f—ing car, I’ll kill you,” at Jordan before firing six shots into his car less than 20 seconds after arriving at the scene, according to lawyers and body camera footage released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Attorneys Antonio Romanucci and Maura White described the footage as illustrating what was a high-pressure situation. The lawsuit alleges that Walzer’s aggression and quick use of his weapon went against the de-escalation practices other officers were employing during the encounter with Jordan.

“Officer Walzer came in unjustifiably hot to assume that Derek Jordan was inside a car that was blocked by several police officers,” Romanucci said Monday. “[Other officers] were on site working to de-escalate the situation, while Walzer arrived at the scene with his gun drawn, immediately shouting multiple verbal threats to kill Derek. So this lawsuit … continues a devastating, decades-long pattern of deadly force used disproportionately on men of color in Chicago.”

Jordan was parked in his white sedan March 9 near the intersection of North Homan and West Chicago avenues when two plainclothes officers exited an unmarked car “in an attempt to ambush Jordan,” White said.

Jordan then drove away, possibly unaware that the armed men in street clothes were police officers, White said. He eventually made his way through an alley but was pinned in by a bus blocking the mouth of the alley and the unmarked squad car from the rear, White said.

Officers repeatedly yelled for Jordan to get out, but he attempted to drive off and struck both the bus, police vehicle and a car parked on Homan Avenue, body worn camera footage shows. More officers arrived “in an effort to de-escalate the situation,” White added.

Jordan briefly turned his front wheels away from Walzer before the shots were fired, according to video released and the lawsuit. The officer is heard repeatedly screaming to “get out of the car” after shots are fired before another officer says, “I see his head” and a third officer opens the passenger car door.

Bystanders are seen in some of the videos, and one man watching says, “Please, don’t shoot, man.”

“He’s wanted for murder. Shut the f— up,” Walzer responds as others break his car window to check on Jordan, video shows. There were no fatalities reported in the shooting Jordan’s vehicle was possibly connected to earlier that day, and it is unclear if Jordan’s plates were confirmed to be a match, a spokesperson for the law firm told Block Club.

A Chicago police spokesperson declined to comment and the city’s law department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Caution: Video contains graphic footage

Romanucci called on the officials to launch a murder investigation into Walzer, who was temporarily placed on administrative duties after shooting and killing Jordan.

Romanucci’s firm also represented George Floyd’s family and it is currently representing the family of Renee Good, who was fatally shot in January by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis. 

Jordan’s parents, Christine and Derek Thompkins, spoke at the Monday press conference.

“I have a hole in my heart that will be there forever,” Derek Thompkins said. “When this person killed my son, he killed me also. I just haven’t laid down yet. Every day I think of my son.”

Jordan’s mother called for justice for her son while wiping tears off of her face.

“I am a nurse, I care for other people,” she said. “But I have been unable to work since Derek was killed. I am a wreck. [Walzer] took my baby. I ask you, how does that person who killed my son sleep at night? How does he eat? How does his family feel? … I can promise you, I am not going to back down. I will get justice for Derek. I just want justice to be done. I love you, Derek. Rest in peace, son.”