$180k Settlement Reached with Waukegan for Police Brutality

Police Misconduct 10/17/2018bhorwitz

In 2007, Blake Horwitz earned a $180,000 settlement for Roy Castillo after he was brutalized by Waukegan police officers out front of his own home years earlier. As originally reported by the Lake County Sun, in April of 2005, Mr. Castillo was sitting out front of his home in Waukegan when he noticed multiple police officers pummeling a man who they were attempting to arrest. Mr. Castillo shouted over to the officers that they didn’t have to be so rough and that they were beating the man like he was Rodney King.

The arresting officers approached Mr. Castillo and proceeded to mace and beat him. Officers then arrested Mr. Castillo—all because he spoke up. Those charges were eventually dropped. On behalf of Mr. Castillo, Blake Horwitz sued the City of Waukegan and the arresting officers for excessive force, false arrest, and malicious prosecution. Although no amount of money can ever reimburse Mr. Castillo for the violence and hardship he suffered at the hands of police, the settlement provided him a semblance of closure for this traumatic event.

If you or someone you know share a similar story as Mr. Castillo, contact The Blake Horwitz Law Firm at (312) 676-2100 or [email protected].

Read more about the settlement below: