CHICAGO — Lawyers are prepared to file a civil rights lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Dakotah Earley, the Lincoln Park culinary student who was shot three times during a robbery on the North Side last year.  

Earley’s lawyers argue that the crime could have been prevented, pointing toward Chicago Police Department’s controversial pursuit policy, alleging that it created dangerous conditions on the streets that led to Earley’s injuries.

In a press conference Thursday morning Earley said, “I’m feeling kind of fine right now, I’m mostly optimistic.”

“Why didn’t they intervene?” asked Cass Casper, an attorney at Disparti Law.

According to Casper, days before Dakotah Earley was robbed and shot in Lincoln Park, police had actionable information on the whereabouts of Tyshon Brownlee, the man accused.

“Why was this criminal and his crew allowed to, over a course of days, commit complete mayhem, on the North Side of the city of Chicago, with multiple crime victims and no one did anything to put a stop to it?” Casper said.

The attorney said information from city dispatchers and patrol officers made it clear there was a crime spree going on the night before Earley was shot in Lincoln Park. The same car used the night before, lawyers say, was also seen in surveillance video revealing the fateful moment Earley was shot.

But the CPD pursuit policy, Casper argues, make officers reluctant to take action.

“We’ve heard specific reports from officers that they don’t want to go anywhere near a police pursuit now because of this non-pursuit policy,” Casper said. “They’re afraid it could lead to their liability. They’re afraid it could lead to department discipline if they do engage in and kind of pursuit, however minimal.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago police Supt. David Brown Supt are named in the soon-to-be-filed lawsuit.

“We’re suing the city of Chicago as a municipal corporation; we’re suing Mayor Lightfoot and Supt. David Brown as the administrators who are responsible for passing and overseeing the non-pursuit policy,” Casper said.

WGN News reached out to both the mayor’s office and Brown. The mayoral and department spokespersons both said they do not comment on pending litigation.