A Chicago champion of the defund-the-police movement is in line for a $280,000 settlement after being roughed up by a police officer during a 2020 protest that turned violent at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park.
Miracle Boyd had her front tooth knocked out by now former Chicago Police Officer Nicholas Jovanovich during the now infamous clash that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd. She was 18 at the time of the incident.
Boyd is an organizer with GoodKids MadCity. The violence prevention group is allied with Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union and served as a pivotal cog in the mayor’s political army.
GoodKids MadCity has received lucrative city contracts to prevent violence and train young people during the summer months. It’s also a leading advocate of the Peace Book ordinance, which calls for reducing the Chicago Police Department $2.1 billion budget and using $40 million in savings to bankroll programs led by young people in Chicago neighborhoods plagued by gang violence.
Sheila Bedi, an attorney representing GoodKids MadCity also has served as Boyd’s attorney in the police abuse case against the city. That case triggered the $280,000 settlement on Monday’s agenda of the City Council’s Finance Committee.
Boyd’s lawsuit serves as a broad indictment of CPD’s brutal response to the civil disobedience that devolved into widespread looting after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
It centers on the clash that occurred on July 17, 2020 as Grant Park protesters threw frozen water bottles at Chicago Police officers while attempting to tear down a statute of Christopher Columbus.
The Columbus statue there and the one of Arrigo Park were targeted, vandalized and ultimately removed by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot to protect them from protesters. The activists view celebrating Columbus as an affront to the indigenous peoples oppressed by the waves of European colonists who followed Columbus’ arrival in America.
The Columbus statues have yet to be returned to their pedestals. A Council order has been introduced demanding their return.
According to Boyd’s complaint, she was using her cell phone to livestream video of the Grant Park protest when Jovanovich walked “aggressively toward her” and called her, `a peace of s – – t.’ “
The officer then struck Boyd in the face “without justification.”
“Either his fist or her phone knocked her tooth out,” the lawsuit states.
The video went viral and so did Boyd’s tirade against the police.
The Civil Office of Police Accountability recommended Jovanovich be fired, but the officer jumped to avoid being pushed.
Another officer was suspended for 60 days for failing to report the excessive force.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Cantanzara was, nevertheless, outraged by the $280,000 settlement.
“It’s this entitled generation of `tough luck, I’m gonna do what I want to do.’ She’s just a spoiled little brat,” Catanzara said of Boyd.
“I don’t think she should be paid anything. … I don’t think [Jovanovich] did anything wrong. I guess you could say he should have maybe pushed her in the chest. But then, he would have been accused of improper touching. It’s this game a lot of these idiots play where they’re just gonna be obstructionist, resistant and trying to get the police to do something so they can get a pay day.”
Bedi was outraged by Catanzara’s verbal counter-offensive.
“How dare Catanzara come after Miracle Boyd, who as 18-year-old youth peacekeeper who has done more to contribute to building up Chicago’s communities and eradicating violence than he ever has?” the attorney said.
Bedi noted Jovanovich “repeatedly lied” to COPA and his own supervisors to cover up his actions.
“Miracle was there to peacefully protest. … She was there exercising her First Amendment right to record arrests and record police officers. That’s when she was assaulted,” Bedi said.
“She has an absolute First Amendment right to say things others might disagree with to police officers. And she has an absolute First Amendment right to record police officers at work. She was not interfering with them. She was not threatening them.”
Ald. Nick Sposato (38th), one of the Council’s most outspoken police advocates, accused Boyd of provoking officers and plans to vote against the settlement.
“She’s a phony. I saw the video of what happened. She kept getting in front of the cop’s face. I remember it like it happened yesterday,” Sposato said.
At the time of the clash, Grant Park protesters were “throwing frozen water bottles” at police officers “trying to restore order,” Sposato said.
“The one officer … was like, ‘Get back. Get back,’ waving his arm. She got in his face. He happened to wave his arm and hit her phone, knocked her tooth out and, now, we’re giving her $280,000?” Sposato said.
The inspector general’s office and a federal monitor overseeing a court-ordered consent decree sharply criticized CPD’s flat-footed response to the George Floyd protests, which have triggered an avalanche of lawsuits and costly settlements.