The family of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Franklin Park last year, has filed a tort claim against the federal government, alleging the shooting “was unlawful and wholly preventable.”
Civilians cannot sue the federal government the way they can sue individual police officers or even municipal or state police departments, so the Federal Tort Claims Act allows individuals to sue the United States itself for the actions of a government employee. Under the law, the government has six months to investigate and respond to a claim. If it refuses to respond or denies the claim, the person can then sue in federal district court.
In May, 18 of the 37 residents of the South Shore apartment building subjected to a military-style raid by federal agents – complete with armored trucks and a Blackhawk helicopter – also filed a tort claim against the government, using the same process…