Justice for Aggie
Search court filings, reporting, and public materials from the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA).
The documentary record
This document collection excludes unfiled discovery, private communications, and copied news footage. A selected deposition excerpt appears on the What Happened page. COPA-released media is linked at its official host rather than republished here. ECF means Electronic Case Filing; an ECF number identifies a document on the court docket.
48 of 48 records
The court denied Plaintiff’s motion to modify the pleading deadline and amend the complaint (ECF No. 211), finding no good cause under Rule 16 and, alternatively, futility and substantial prejudice under Rule 15. The proposed Monell count is not part of the operative case. The order canceled the November 4 hearing and identified March 1, 2027 as the trial date.
This historical scheduling entry set a telephone ruling on leave to amend. ECF No. 220 subsequently denied the motion and struck the November 4 hearing. There is no November 4 hearing under this entry.
Case No. 132241 concerns the Chicago FOP’s effort to enforce closed arbitration hearings for serious discipline, continued pay, and the timeliness of the City’s challenge. The docket provides the parties’ briefs and amici. No published merits decision was located in the October 21, 2026 review.
The Inspector General found that COPA reduced its backlog but did not fully follow its case-closure guidance or ensure implementation of recommended training. This review concerns a separate initiative, not Aggie’s case.
The appellate majority preserved public hearings for serious police discipline arbitration but reinstated the award’s continued-pay requirement. Under review in Illinois Supreme Court No. 132241; this is separate from Maynard’s lawsuit.
The Illinois Supreme Court rejected an arbitration award enforcing a contractual records-destruction provision because it conflicted with public policy embodied in the Local Records Act.
Georgetown law professor and former federal prosecutor Paul Butler argues that FOP leadership and policies obstruct civil rights and accountability. Published in The Nation, co-published with The Marshall Project; this is scholarly commentary, not a Georgetown journal article or a finding in Maynard.
DOJ documented concealment of police misconduct, weak enforcement against dishonesty, and barriers to investigation. These historical findings concern Chicago’s accountability system, not the April 2024 shooting.
A study of 178 contracts identifies disciplinary provisions that can obstruct accountability. Its nationwide findings do not establish that every provision appears in Chicago’s current agreement.
A study of 624 arbitration awards issued in 2006–2020 examines reductions in discipline and reinstatement. The sample concerns arbitrated appeals, not all police terminations, and does not establish that each reversal was improper.
Examines union barriers to reform, legitimate protections against arbitrary discipline, and examples of reform achieved with rank-and-file and union cooperation.
Adam T. Biggs and Kyle A. Pettijohn found that stopping ability predicted unintended casualties in military shooting simulations beyond marksmanship and shots fired. The study concerns general decision-making mechanisms, not this incident.
Arne Nieuwenhuys, Geert J. P. Savelsbergh, and Raôul R. D. Oudejans studied 36 police officers in video simulations. Higher anxiety increased shooting of surrendering suspects. The authors discuss reliance on threat expectations; the study does not establish Mostek’s mental state.
Paul L. Taylor’s randomized simulator experiment with 306 active law enforcement officers found that erroneous dispatch information increased shooting errors. It illustrates the influence of initial expectations; it does not suggest that dispatch priming occurred in Aggie’s case.
Eddie Harmon-Jones and Judson Mills explain cognitive inconsistency, discomfort, and ways people defend decisions or respond to conflicting information. This general theory is distinct from the ability to inhibit an intended shooting response.
The court denied the Rule 72(a) objections and upheld the restriction on public dissemination. It clarified that the materials may be referenced in pretrial and trial-preparation filings, and that materials admitted as trial exhibits may be publicly disseminated. This linked source is a verbatim transcription of the court’s minute entry from its electronic filing notice.
CBS News Chicago’s report concerning the shooting of Aggie and accountability. This external report is news coverage; reported statements are not judicial findings.
Four selected pages of ECF No. 94-9, retaining the surrounding questions and answers, including Butler’s explanation of the messages and further review. Read the Accountability section for context.
Defendants asked the district judge to affirm the August 26 COPA-document use restriction. This filing states their position; the subsequent September 29 ruling, ECF No. 207, denied Plaintiff’s objections. Read the Court Case page for the competing positions, the ruling, and Maynard’s objection to the filing’s incident summary.
Plaintiff asked the district judge to modify or set aside the trial-only use restriction in the August 26 order, arguing that it lacked the good-cause finding required by Rule 26(c), was insufficiently tailored, and created uncertainty about ordinary litigation uses. The court denied these objections on September 29, 2026 in ECF No. 207; both the filing and the subsequent ruling are collected here.
The court held that the City had not established the asserted Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemptions, but expressly limited the plaintiff’s use of the COPA documents to presenting evidence at trial and prohibited their use for any other purpose. The underlying COPA documents are therefore not republished here.
The court granted summary judgment on Counts IV and VI and denied the motions as to the remaining claims. A denial of summary judgment is not a finding of liability.
Plaintiff’s filed advocacy concerning scope of employment and the City’s asserted responsibility. Arguments in a brief are not judicial findings.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
CBS News Chicago’s January 21 follow-up includes on-camera interviews with Kent Maynard and attorney James Benak concerning the investigation, discipline, and accountability. Their statements are attributed interview commentary, not judicial findings.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
CBS News Chicago’s standalone video page for its January 2025 segment. The video remains on the publisher’s website and is not reproduced here.
The court dismissed Counts II and III, the Monell municipal-liability claims, and denied dismissal of the state-law claims against the City. This pleading-stage ruling addressed legal sufficiency, not the ultimate merits of the surviving claims.
The amended pleading as filed, with residential information redacted for republication. Allegations are not findings; Counts II and III were later dismissed; summary judgment was entered on Counts IV and VI.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
FOX 32 included its coverage of the incident in its June 2, 2024 Week in Review. The Aggie-related report begins at approximately 13:40; the linked roundup also covers unrelated news stories.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
FOX 32’s May 29 report concerning COPA’s release and the April 21 incident. Statements and quotations on the linked page are FOX 32’s reporting, not findings by this site or a court.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
COPA’s official collection of the documents, video, and audio it released concerning the incident. COPA warns that some media may be graphic or contain strong language.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
FOX 32’s original video page, published May 28, 2024 at 9:13 p.m. CDT. This link directs readers to the publisher’s own page; no FOX video or article content is reproduced here. Viewer discretion advised.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
CBS News Chicago’s original investigative report following COPA’s release of surveillance video. Statements and characterizations on the linked page are CBS’s reporting, not findings by this site or a court. Viewer discretion advised.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
Kade Heather’s May 28 Chicago Sun-Times report concerning COPA’s video release and the lawsuit. Statements and characterizations on the linked page are the Sun-Times’ reporting or attributed source accounts, not judicial findings.
COPA’s announcement releasing video and other materials concerning the off-duty weapons discharge.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
COPA labels this video as showing the officer-involved shooting. Viewer discretion advised. Video is one source of evidence and is not, by itself, a finding regarding conduct.
Sensitive content advisory: This link contains or leads to video of the fatal shooting of a dog and may be disturbing.
COPA labels this video as showing the officer-involved shooting. Viewer discretion advised. Video is one source of evidence and is not, by itself, a finding regarding conduct.
Audio released through COPA’s official case portal. It may contain strong or disturbing content and should be considered with the rest of the record.
Audio released through COPA’s official case portal. It may contain strong or disturbing content and should be considered with the rest of the record.
Audio released through COPA’s official case portal. It may contain strong or disturbing content and should be considered with the rest of the record.
Audio released through COPA’s official case portal. It may contain strong or disturbing content and should be considered with the rest of the record.
Audio released through COPA’s official case portal. It may contain strong or disturbing content and should be considered with the rest of the record.
Audio released through COPA’s official case portal. It may contain strong or disturbing content and should be considered with the rest of the record.
ABC7’s early report stated, attributing the account to police, that Aggie bit Buddy’s neck and that Mostek fired to stop the attack. The surveillance video had not yet been publicly released.
CBS’s same-day report described Aggie as attacking Mostek’s dog. Readers did not then have the surveillance video that COPA released on May 28.
Redacted incident report released in connection with COPA Log 2024-0003540. The report records an official account; it is not a judicial finding.
Redacted Tactical Response Report concerning the April 21, 2024 discharge. Its descriptions should be read as statements in the report, not findings by this site.
Courtney G. Lee’s University of New Hampshire Law Review article examines the Fourth Amendment implications of police shootings of companion animals, including the danger that gunfire directed at animals can pose to nearby owners and bystanders. It is general scholarship, not evidence or a finding in Maynard.
Judge Robert M. Dow Jr.’s opinion discussing when alleged failures to investigate and discipline, combined with an alleged police code of silence, may plausibly supply the causal “moving force” required for municipal liability. The ruling addressed pleading sufficiency, not proof or liability, and does not revive the dismissed Monell counts in Maynard.