CHICAGO — Jury selection began Monday morning in the case of a Chicago police sergeant who claims he faced retaliatory behavior after refusing to look the other way during the investigation of a controversial 2017 police shooting on the Far South Side.
CPD Sgt. Isaac Lambert filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the city in 2019, alleging that he was removed from the department’s detective bureau because he refused to classify another CPD sergeant as the victim in the shooting of 18-year-old Ricardo “Ricky” Hayes in the Morgan Park neighborhood more than five years ago.
“They wanted me to have some reports changed to fit the narrative that they wanted,” Lambert previously said. “They wanted this kid charged with aggravated assault and the elements just weren’t there.”
Opening statements in the case, which is expected to last several weeks, are scheduled for Tuesday before Cook County Judge Thomas More Donnelly.
Lambert’s lawsuit seeks his reinstatement to the detective division as well as other damages.
In August 2017, Hayes’ caretaker reported him missing from his Morgan Park home. A few hours later, Hayes was seen running through the neighborhood by CPD Sgt. Khalil Muhammad, who was off-duty at the time.
Home security footage previously released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability shows Hayes running down the sidewalk before stopping near 10947 S. Hermosa. After he stopped, Hayes took a few steps toward Muhammad’s vehicle, which was idling in the street...
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