Family of Dominique Pollion files civil lawsuit against the CTA, security firms for reckless disregard of rider security before deadly attack on a Blue Line Train
Officials had notice of security concerns well before the January 10, 2026, attack and recklessly disregarded rider safety
CHICAGO (September 1, 2026) – The death of Dominique Pollion while on board a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Blue Line train could have and should have been preventable. The CTA was aware of a significant rise in passenger attacks, including the burning of a female passenger by a stranger just three months prior, and a 150% increase in rider attacks in the last five years, following the federal government’s rejection of the CTA’s security plan in December 2025, calling it insufficient. It was in that deficient security environment that a stranger stabbed Dominique in the early hours of January 10, 2026, when the stranger brutally attacked him after Dominique fell asleep. The senseless death of the 37-year-old is stunning for its brazen attack, but even more so for the shockingly reckless actions and inactions by the CTA and two of its security contractors. A new civil lawsuit filed by Romanucci & Blandin aims to secure accountability for this needless loss of life.
CTA Security Background
The CTA was keenly aware of security concerns and failed to take action to protect patrons in January 2026. Officials were aware that its passengers faced a foreseeable and escalating risk of violent criminal attack on its trains:
- The federal government had ordered immediate, measurable security action and then formally rejected CTA’s December 15, 2025, security enhancement plan as materially deficient. There had been a well-documented pattern of serious violent crimes aboard its trains, including a November 2025 incident in which a man set a twenty-six-year-old woman on fire aboard a Blue Line train downtown. These violent incidents put the CTA on notice that its passengers were at foreseeable risk of violent criminal attacks.
- The CTA’s announced security measures did not provide meaningful protection in the overnight hours to passengers like Mr. Pollion, given a 150% increase in customer assaults over the last five years.
- The CTA had a specific, documented encounter with Defendant Thurman on the Blue Line just days before Dominique’s murder yet took no action to prevent him from returning to the system.
- There was a failed security response at Clark/Lake Station that night. The security personnel who responded to the Clark/Lake station platform to help Dominique were private security officers — not sworn CPD officers — who lacked the authority to arrest or detain Thurman. These unarmed guards could not even immediately determine that Dominique had been stabbed. Meanwhile, Thurman calmly recorded the scene from outside the train, made a verbal statement, and walked out of the station without being stopped.
After Dominique’s death, CTA announced or described the Transit Rider Interaction Program (“TRIP”), under which groups of six to eight officers would patrol platforms and board trains to inspect cars at high-incident stations.
Case Background
The assailant was known to the CTA; train security had recently encountered him. On January 10, 2026, Dominique Pollion fell asleep in a CTA Blue Line train car. At approximately 2:15 am, the assailant entered the same train car where Dominique was sleeping, holding his cell phone in one hand and a large knife in the other hand. The assailant stabbed Dominique in the heart and then in the abdomen. Awoken by the attack, Dominique screamed and attempted to back away from his attacker, but he collapsed in the aisle of the train car.
Private security officers failed to respond until the next stop, the Clark/Lake station. Shockingly, even as first responders later cared for Dominique, the private security officer allowed the assailant to remain on the scene, recording the attempt to save Dominique’s life, and allowed him to leave the scene without being stopped or detained. Dominique was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The assailant was later identified by police through video footage and arrested two days later. He is charged with one felony count of first-degree murder.
Lawsuit Details
Romanucci & Blandin, LLC announces the filing of a civil lawsuit for the unprovoked attack and fatal stabbing of Dominique Pollion, while he was a passenger on the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line on January 10, 2026.
The civil lawsuit was filed on August 31, 2026, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Law Division. Romanucci & Blandin, LLC Partner Michael D. Cerasa and Co-Counsel Amy C. Floyd of the Floyd Law Office represent the Plaintiff.
The Plaintiff is Shirley Pollion-Hines, Dominique’s grandmother, as the independent administrator of Dominique’s estate. Defendants include the Chicago Transit Authority, Monterrey Security Consultants, Inc. and Action K-9 Security, Inc., and Demitrius Thurman.
Counts in the lawsuit against the various defendants include:
- Battery and Wrongful Death
- Assault and Wrongful Death
- Survival Action
- Negligence and Wrongful Death
- Willful and Wanton Misconduct and Wrongful Death
The complaint seeks a jury trial.
“The CTA’s prior knowledge of a surge in violence against passengers was crystal clear, and they failed to appropriately and promptly respond with adequate security measures to keep riders safe. Dominique Pollion paid for that reckless disregard for safety with his life on January 10th, and his family is committed to full accountability for those failures. The CTA can and must do better in his honor and for the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on CTA services in Chicago,” said Romanucci & Blandin, LLC Partner Michael D. Cerasa
“Our family is asking for compassion. We are asking for dignity and truth. We are asking that Dominique be remembered as a human being whose life had value. We are asking the CTA and the other defendants to take responsibility for Dominique’s death because they owe all of us that much. Don’t ever doubt that the CTA failed Dominique on the day of his death. And they continue to fail others who rely on them because they refuse to take necessary steps to safeguard us,” said Shirley Pollion-Hines, Plaintiff and Dominique’s grandmother.
About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC
Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death. For nearly 30 years, we have secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars and others record-setting awards. Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors differentiate our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We are different from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured. We are often inspired by our clients’ experiences and commit resources to create change in our communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000.
About Floyd Law Firm
Amy C Floyd, Attorney at Law LLC, is a Chicago-based, highly specialized law practice focused on working with family groups to provide legal services in business and family transfer transactions. The victim, Dominique Pollion, was introduced to Ms. Floyd in 2018 and she hired him to work for the firm to assist in clearing out a warehouse that was being sold by one of the firm’s clients. She has remained in contact with Dominique’s family since then, providing business and family counsel to Dominique’s family.
