Nearly a year after a federal jury found that an Aurora police officer used excessive force against him during a 2020 traffic stop, George Gutierrez will be receiving $400,000 as part of a settlement agreement with the city of Aurora, in the resolution of a yearslong legal battle.
But, though an agreement has been reached, Gutierrez, 53, of Aurora, says he plans to use his experience to continue organizing in the community and advocating for change in the police department.
When George Gutierrez was pulled over on April 26, 2020, he requested a supervisor to come to the scene when asked to exit his car by police, according to his legal team last year. Gutierrez’s attorneys previously alleged that officers refused his requests, broke his window, pulled him out of the car and slammed his head into a nearby van although he had put his hands up. Gutierrez claimed he experienced physical and emotional injuries, including a concussion.
In the 2020 traffic stop, Gutierrez had been pulled over for failing to signal within 100 feet, Kane County court records show. Gutierrez was ultimately convicted in Kane County court for that offense, and for having tinted windows and obstructing a police officer, according to court records.
The legal battle over the incident began about five years ago, when Gutierrez filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Aurora and the two officers present at the traffic stop, Cory McCue and Matthew Thomas Meyers.
Two days after the jury trial for the case began in 2025, a verdict was delivered in Gutierrez’s favor, finding that McCue used excessive force in the incident.
This was in spite of the defendants being allowed in the course of the trial to note that Gutierrez had a prior conviction. In 1994, he was found guilty of a gang-related shooting death, although he was not the gunman himself, according to past reporting.
Gutierrez was originally slated to receive $50,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages in connection with the success of his lawsuit. Compensatory damages are meant to reimburse a plaintiff for the damage they’ve suffered, whereas punitive damages are essentially a way to punish misconduct on the part of the defendant. But the punitive damages were ultimately reduced to $250,000 based on a motion by McCue and the city, according to court records.
Following the verdict in favor of Gutierrez in 2025, the Aurora Police Department indicated its intention to appeal the decision. The city filed an appeal in December, court records show, but a police department spokesman confirmed that the appeal is being dismissed as a result of the settlement, which “brings the matter to a close.” The civil case was terminated in early February, according to the court docket for the case.
A settlement agreement between Gutierrez and the city was ultimately approved by Aurora’s City Council in late February, and was recently finalized — with Gutierrez awarded $400,000 from the city.
Aurora Mayor John Laesch, in a statement provided to The Beacon-News, confirmed that the settlement is in exchange for a “stipulated dismissal of all claims.”
Gutierrez, for his part, said the settlement negotiations originally included a request that he “be quiet about the case,” which he didn’t agree to.
“I was never after the money, anyway,” Gutierrez said of the settlement in an interview with The Beacon-News. “I’m still going to speak up about this because it’s not over for me. … I was always about change.”
Gutierrez is involved in the Aurora community, running a business called Chicano Times and putting on community events.
“When this incident happened,” Gutierrez recalled, “I just decided I was going to take it upon myself to use it to help the community — not just myself.”
The Aurora Police Department, however, has continued to argue that the verdict ruling against the city and McCue in the lawsuit was “contrary to well-established law,” it said in a statement provided to The Beacon-News.
“This settlement should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing,” the department said. “These decisions are often made to resolve litigation efficiently and responsibly, particularly when the costs of continued legal proceedings may outweigh other considerations.”
Going forward, the police department reiterated its commitment to “professionalism, accountability, and the safety of both our community and our officers.”
Laesch, in his statement, added that the city “remains focused on working towards thoughtful police reform in Aurora.” He indicated that Aurora Police Chief Matt Thomas has agreed to meet with Gutierrez and his legal representation to “hear their perspectives and discuss opportunities for ongoing improvement.”
When asked, the police department confirmed that both McCue and Meyers are still employed by the department. In 2021, the year after the traffic stop, the two officers were honored by the Exchange Club of Aurora as 2020 Aurora Police Officers of the Year for protecting a young mother and her children from a man with a knife.
In the aftermath of his incident with police, Gutierrez said he pushed for a public forum with the police department, in hopes of leading to policy change. He’s still hoping for that now — and plans to organize a community forum of his own even if the department declines to be involved.
And he emphasized that he views the incident as a systemic problem, beyond his own case.
“Imagine those that don’t have a voice,” Gutierrez said of interactions between the police and community. “Imagine those that are, maybe, immigrants or don’t have family or anything like that out here. … I’m out in the public every day and this is happening to me. So, it’s happening on a larger scale, but it’s behind the scenes (and) people are not speaking up about it because they’re intimidated.”
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
