A concealed carry license holder is suing the city of Chicago and a handful of police officers after she and her son were charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a man who was seen on camera punching the woman before her son intervened.
Carlishia Hood, 35, and her 14-year-old son were charged with first-degree murder this month for the fatal shooting of Jeremy Brown, 32, on June 18. Just days later on Monday, prosecutors dropped the charges against Hood and her son.
Now, Hood is suing the city and the officers who arrested her over claims of malicious prosecution, false arrest and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to CBS News.
“My life changed. My son’s life changed. I’ve experienced pain in many ways that I would never have thought,” Hood said of the arrests. “What happened to me was totally unnecessary. Never in a million years would I have imagined being brutally attacked, beaten, and being arrested.”
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Chicago mom Carlishia Hood speaks at press conference. (Fox 32 Chicago )
Prosecutors have not pointed to a specific reason for dropping the charges against Hood and her son, with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office only saying prosecutors “are unable to meet our burden of proof in the prosecution of these cases.”
Hood is a licensed concealed carry holder and has a valid FOID card – an Illinois identification card used for gun possession and purchase.
Maxwell Street Express restaurant in Chicago. (Google Maps )
The mom was standing in line at a hot dog fast-food restaurant on June 18 when she and Brown got into an argument. Footage of the scene shows Brown punching Hood at least three times. Hood’s teenaged son was waiting in the car before Hood texted him and asked for help.
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Hood’s son entered the restaurant, pulled a gun from his hoodie and shot Brown in the back, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors had said Hood ordered her son to continue shooting Brown as the man fled the restaurant.
Brown ultimately died due to bullet wounds to his back.
Hood’s lawyers argued there was “an obvious rush to judgment” when Hood and her son were arrested, saying she was attacked unprovoked by a man.
“You don’t have to be a lawyer to appreciate and recognize that when a woman is violently attacked by a man – an unarmed woman – that she shouldn’t be arrested,” attorney Brandon Brown said, according to CBS News. “And if any one of you were to replace Carlishia Hood with your mother, with your sister, with your daughter; if your mother, or sister, or daughter were attacked in a restaurant when she’s trying to order a cheeseburger, would you expect that she would be arrested?”
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Fellow attorney Ari Williams said Hood was “beaten for nothing.”
“Ms. Hood doesn’t even understand how it built up. It was unnecessary. It was a vicious attack for no reason,” Williams said.
Hood did thank Foxx and her office for dropping the charges.
State’s Attorney Kim Foxx speaks during a press conference. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)
“I just thank God everything was revealed,” Hood said. “I am now in the process of healing and putting my family’s life back together.”
Hood said she has been spending a lot of time with her son and is working with him on coping with the situation.
“I just need a little time to heal and spend a little time with my baby,” she said.
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Foxx’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the charges and why they were dropped.