It’s a story likely to warm hearts across Chicago: A Cook County jury has ordered Lincoln Towing, one of the city’s most disliked companies, to pay $2.85 million to a man who said one of its employees pointed a gun at his head as he clung to the hood of a tow truck moving through Wicker Park traffic. And the award includes record-setting punitive damages.
Jermall Harvey had permission to park in the lot of the now-shuttered CVS at 1200 North Ashland on October 12, 2022. When he learned that Lincoln Towing employees were preparing to tow his car, he ran outside to tell them he was parked legally and had a valid pass.
Video aired by NBC 5 in 2023 showed Harvey jogging toward the tow truck, which appeared to speed toward the garage exit. State law requires towing companies to release a vehicle if its owner approaches before the tow is completed, the news outlet reported…