Bettie Jones was a 55-year-old woman living in the Garfield Park area of Chicago, IL. She was killed shortly after letting police into her apartment building so they could respond to a domestic disturbance call about her upstairs neighbor’s son Quintonio LeGrier. When the officer arrived, 19-year-old Quintonio was brandishing an aluminum bat and suffering a mental health episode. The officer fired eight shots intended for Quintonio; six bullets hit Quintonio but one hit Bettie in her chest. Bettie was standing behind Quintonio outside of her apartment when the officer started firing. Bettie’s 19-year-old daughter, Latisha Jones, witnessed her mother’s tragic death on December 26, 2015, the day after Christmas. Latisha was understandably distraught over her mother’s murder. During her testimony, she described how her mother insisted that she not answer the door when the police rang the doorbell. That protective act from her mother likely saved her life.

Latisha initially dismissed the gunshots and just attributed them to an ongoing gang conflict in the area. Unfortunately, when she eventually saw her mother lying face-up on the floor, in tears. She cradled her mother’s head in her arms, and that was when she saw blood on her own hand. Her mother had been shot in her chest and could not speak. Latisha held her dying mother in her arms and tried her best to comfort her, as she desperately gasped for air. “It’s OK. It’s OK. Just fight it,” Latisha pleaded. Bettie was killed after trying to be a good neighbor.

The officer was not prosecuted for criminal charges but was later fired from the force, nearly four years later. The police chief classified Bettie’s death as accidental and The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) ruled the shooting unjustified. Bettie Jones’ family was awarded a $16 million settlement against the City of Chicago.