1,000 signatures reached
To: Retirement Board of the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund
Don't Pay Dante
We, the signers of this petition, demand the Retirement Board of the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund immediately revoke Dante Servin's pension for the murder of Rekia Boyd. Now that Servin has resigned, he can begin collecting his pension when he turns 50 in July of 2018. His salary, as of Dec. 31, 2015, was $97,044.
Why is this important?
For four years, the people of Chicago led by Rekia’s family have marched, protested, held teach-ins and attended Chicago Police Board meetings demanding that Dante Servin be held accountable for taking Rekia’s young life. May 19, 2016 would have begun the start of the termination hearing for Dante Servin, the Chicago police officer who murdered 22 year old Rekia Boyd on March 22, 2012. Instead, Servin resigned Tuesday, May 17, 2016, two days before an evidentiary hearing was scheduled to begin as the last stage in his firing process. Every step of the way, Rekia’s family and supporters have been met with bureaucratic red tape preventing justice. From unnecessary prolonged review periods, to the three years it took for the criminal case to face trial, to the technicality which enabled Servin to walk scot free while the presiding judge stated that he should have been charged with first degree murder, each step was met with government failure to the people of Chicago illustrating City government’s culture of complicity and “blue wall of silence”.
Timeline:
- March 21, 2012 - Rekia was shot by Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer Dante Servin.
- March 22, 2012 - Rekia was taken off of life support after doctors declared her brain dead.
- November 28, 2013 - Involuntary manslaughter charges were filed against Servin -- 617 days (or one year, eight months and one week) after Rekia Boyd's murder.
- April 9, 2015 - The criminal trial against Servin began, 498 days (one year, four months and two weeks) after the charges were filed.
- April 20, 2015 - Judge Dennis Porter granted the defense a directed verdict acquitting Servin of involuntary manslaughter, stating that he should have been charged with first-degree murder. The state's decision to undercharge Servin for his crime at the outset meant that he could not be convicted of a higher charge at the discretion of the court. Since double jeopardy attached the moment a jury was impaneled, Servin cannot be retried for the murder of Rekia Boyd.
- September 16, 2015 - After five months of protests at the monthly Chicago Police Board meeting, the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) -- a city-run entity that has been widely discredited for rubber-stamping police violence -- recommended firing Servin. Per the guidelines, the superintendent had 60 days to respond.
- November 24, 2015 - Seventy days later, the day the video of the murder of Laquan McDonald was released to the public after a court ruling, former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy agreed with IPRA's recommendation to fire Servin. In the week following the release of the video, McCarthy was fired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Per the firing guidelines, the Chicago Police Board had six months to schedule an evidentiary hearing for Servin.
- May 19, 2016 - Six months later, the first date of the evidentiary hearing was scheduled to begin.
Servin was only the second cop the Independent Police Review Authority recommended to fire for a shooting since its inception. Now that Servin has resigned, he can begin collecting his pension when he turns 50 in July of 2018. His salary, as of Dec. 31, 2015, was $97,044.
Dante Servin has literally gotten away with murder.
Join us in demanding that Dante Servin's pension be revoked. This is the least that the City can do.
Join us in #RememberingRekia by saying #DontPayDante.
Endorsed By:
A Long Walk Home
Assata's Daughters
Peoples Response Team
Women's All Points Bulletin
The Let Us Breathe Collective
American Friends Service Committee