‘JUSTICE WAS SERVED’

$12M Settlement Reached After Unarmed 12-Year-Old Shot in Bed During Raid

Amir Worship, 12, has undergone five knee surgeries and is expected to require multiple replacements over his lifetime since being shot in bed during a SWAT raid.

An Illinois family will receive a $12 million settlement after a 2019 incident in which their son, then 12 years old, was shot in the knee by a SWAT officer conducting a raid on their home. Four years later, lawyers for the family say, Amir Worship has suffered through five surgeries, and is expected to undergo multiple knee replacements in the years to come. In addition to a lifelong disability, the teenager has also been left with PTSD. While Worship’s mother acknowledged that “justice was served for Amir” with the settlement, she and other relatives are calling on the Cook County State’s Attorney to reopen an investigation into the officer responsible, Caleb Blood. Though he was later fired from the South Suburban Emergency Response Team, three investigations—one by the Illinois State Police and two by the Richton Park Police Department—found no misconduct on his part, family attorney Al Hofeld told USA Today. “He was never disciplined and never even taken off the streets,” Hofeld said. “You can’t just shoot a 12-year-old child for literally no reason and do it with complete impunity.”