A Chicago woman has filed a lawsuit against the city after being shot in a violent incident involving a stolen gun that had been taken from a local police station.
Twanda Willingham, the plaintiff, was shot in her right thigh early on August 14 while parking near her home in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.
The gun involved, a .45-caliber Glock 21, had originally been turned in during a police gun buyback initiative held at St. Sabina Church on December 2, 2023.
Following the buyback, the weapon was secured in the tactical team office at the Gresham District police station.
Willingham’s lawsuit alleges that police officers took the gun from the station and either sold or transferred it to someone else.
The suit highlights comments made by police officers who worked at the buyback event, expressing interest and admiration for the Glock pistol.
“CPD Officers are also not immune to the allure of Glock pistols,” the lawsuit states, suggesting a culture of interest in the weapon among the officers.
The document names Sgt. Robert Brown, who managed the buyback event, along with several unidentified officers as defendants, as well as the City of Chicago.
According to the allegations, the defendants attempted to conceal the theft of the gun.
Evidence includes a tag that was supposed to identify the Glock but was instead placed on a different firearm, while an envelope associated with that gun was later discovered in the trash.
Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that Officer Krystal Rivera’s name was wrongfully included in the records concerning the inventory, despite her not being involved in the recovery of the firearms.
This act allegedly aimed to complicate any efforts for tracking the firearm’s disappearance and thwart subsequent recovery attempts.
Tragically, Officer Rivera was shot and killed on June 5 in a police incident involving her partner, who is also part of the tactical team.
The police department described Rivera’s death as resulting from a friendly-fire accident during a confrontation with an armed individual in a narcotics-laden apartment.
In the aftermath of Willingham’s shooting, the Glock was reportedly used in at least two additional shootings before it was discovered in possession of a 16-year-old boy on November 30, 2024, as he was attempting to pull car door handles.
Although the teenager was questioned by police, he reportedly declined to disclose the firearm’s origins.
In April, he entered a guilty plea to a charge of illegally possessing the gun.
Initially, an internal affair investigation into the theft concluded without any charges.
However, it was reopened following reports by the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times regarding the gun’s disappearance.
Despite the renewed investigation, no charges have been filed related to the incident.
Sgt. Robert Brown received a one-day suspension for failing to properly secure and care for department property, and he remains the only officer to face any disciplinary action linked to the gun’s theft.
Neither Brown nor representatives from the police department or the city’s Law Department commented on the matter when reached for statements.
Willingham, reflecting on her experience in an earlier interview, recounted the traumatic events surrounding her shooting.
She described a rapid barrage of bullets striking her vehicle, with one bullet piercing the passenger door and hitting her thigh.
“I felt something in my leg, like burning,” she explained. “So I touched it and was, like, ‘Oh, my God, I think I just got shot.’”
The aftermath of the shooting forced her to relocate and rely on crutches and a wheelchair for mobility.
“Why would someone want to harm me?” she questioned, grappling with the motives behind the violence she experienced.
In her lawsuit, Willingham asserts that city officials are aware of the potential dangers posed by Glocks, as evidenced by previous legal actions taken against gun manufacturers.
She is seeking at least $50,000 in damages due to the emotional and physical toll of the incident.
image source from：chicago
