Felicea Williams had remained in a coma since a Jan. 5 arrest near Howard Street.
EVANSTON, IL — A 42-year-old Evanston woman has died after spending months in a coma following a January police encounter that her family says involved excessive force, attorneys for the family said Wednesday.
Felicea Williams’ death adds new weight to a federal lawsuit already pending against the city of Evanston and six police officers. The case centers on a Jan. 5 arrest in the 1100 block of Howard Street, near Barton Avenue, where police said officers were responding to violent incidents near the Evanston-Chicago border. Williams’ family says officers’ actions left her with severe brain injuries.
Attorney Victor Henderson announced Williams’ death July 1, nearly six months after the encounter. “When Evanston police officers confronted Felicea Williams on Jan. 5, 2026, she was alive. Today, she is dead,” Henderson said in a statement. He said the family’s effort to seek accountability would continue through the courts. Williams had remained unresponsive after the arrest, according to her family and attorneys. Her mother, Jacqueline Hoffman, said in April that her daughter could not speak or respond. “She can’t do nothing. She is just staring. She has no awareness,” Hoffman said then, describing hospital visits with her daughter.
Evanston police have given a different account of the Jan. 5 encounter. Police said officers were called at about 9:38 p.m. for a report that two men were battering another person. At the same time, Chicago police were called to a stabbing at a bar on the Chicago side of Howard Street. Evanston police said Williams was involved in both incidents. Officers found her bleeding from the face, police said, and a person at the scene said she had been part of the altercation. Police said Williams ran into the street, tried to force her way into a car and did not follow commands to stop. As officers tried to detain her, police said, she spat blood and saliva into an officer’s mouth and tried to bite the officer’s ungloved hand.
The lawsuit, filed June 1 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, names the city and officers Todorche Ginchevski, Jack Gutekanst, Hoo Park, Amanda Fernandez, Michael Pagan and Jonathan Kurzeja as defendants. The complaint accuses officers of excessive force, failure to intervene, battery and related claims. It alleges Williams suffered cardiac arrest during the arrest and remained in a coma afterward. Police said force was used because Williams resisted arrest. Evanston police also said the Evanston Fire Department responded and moved Williams onto a gurney before she became unresponsive. Paramedics began lifesaving measures before she was taken to a hospital, police said. The precise medical cause of Williams’ death has not been publicly released.
The case began as a records fight before it became a federal civil rights lawsuit. In April, Williams’ family sued Evanston, alleging the city failed to provide records under the Freedom of Information Act after the family sought more details about the arrest. That case was later dismissed after some records were released. City attorneys also released some body camera footage in June showing officers restraining Williams during the arrest. Henderson said at the time that the family still needed a fuller account of what happened. Williams’ relatives have said she had mental health struggles, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and may have been experiencing a manic episode the night of the encounter.
Williams had been charged with three counts of aggravated battery to a police officer after the incident, according to police. Evanston police said they notified the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force after the encounter. The status of any outside review was not immediately clear Wednesday. The civil lawsuit remains pending, and Williams’ death could change the legal claims or damages sought by her family. The city has declined to discuss the allegations in detail, citing the pending litigation. In response to a request for comment after Williams’ death, the city said it could not comment because of the lawsuit.
The confrontation happened on Howard Street, a busy corridor where Evanston and Chicago meet. Police described a chaotic scene involving a reported battery, a stabbing call and officers from different agencies responding near the same time. Williams’ family has focused on what happened after officers reached her, saying the response to a woman in crisis turned violent and left them searching for answers. Henderson said Williams’ relatives are mourning “a daughter, a mother and a loved one.” Police have said officers were trying to control a volatile scene involving a bleeding person who resisted detention and made physical contact with an officer.
As of Thursday, the public record showed two competing accounts: one from police describing a resisted arrest after multiple violent reports, and one from Williams’ family alleging police force and inaction caused catastrophic harm. The next major step is expected in federal court, where the pending lawsuit will determine what records, testimony and evidence become part of the case.
Author note: Last updated July 2, 2026.