Chicago Cop Who Fatally Shot Quintonio LeGrier Sues Teen’s Estate

A Chicago policeman who shot and killed a 19-year-old student is suing the teenager’s estate for $10 million for “extreme emotional trauma”.

The legal action comes at a time when the police force is trying to win back public trust after a number of deadly shootings, including several cases of alleged officer misconduct.

Both attorneys for the LeGrier family and Officer Robert Rialmo share their insight into the lawsuits stemming from the December 26 shooting of 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and neighbor Bettie Jones.

Rialmo says in the lawsuit that Quintonio LeGrier twice swung a baseball bat at the officer’s head and was preparing to swing again when Rialmo opened fire.

Basileios Foutris, the attorney for Antonio LeGrier, spoke about what he considered to be Officer Rialmo’s “temerity” in suing the family of the college student he fatally shot. They say the evidence indicates the officer was 20 or 30 feet away when he fired, calling into question Rialmo’s contention that he feared for his life. The Legrier’s neighbor, Bettie Jones, died from a single bullet wound to her chest. The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a civil rights investigation, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel has promised a major overhaul of the Police Department and steps to heal its fraught relationship with black residents, according to the Associated Press.

Chicago’s Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting, which happened after officers responded to 911 calls from LeGrier and his father asking for help. Rialmo says LeGrier took a full swing with the bat that missed his head by just inches, so close that he could feel the “movement of air as the bat moved in front of his face”.

A lawyer for LeGrier’s estate said the suit was “nonsense” and “pure fantasy”. Rialmo drew his handgun and fired eight times at LeGrier, striking him six times.

The Dec. 26 shooting deaths of LeGrier and Bettie Jones added to mounting tension in this city that was already reeling from the release of a police video in late November that showed a white officer, Jason Van Dyke, fatally shoot a black teen, Laquan McDonald, 16 times.

“First you shoot them, then you sue them”, he said. They’ve described LeGrier as a “combative subject”. Officers who are involved in shootings are not relieved of their police powers or accused of any wrongdoing by the department. The family’s suit also said LeGrier did nothing to threaten Rialmo or anyone else on the scene, and was not involved in any illegal activity at the time. The father of the Northern Illinois University student also made an emergency call to police.

Foutris said he saw the lawsuit as an attempt to deflect attention from what the officer had done and was planning a legal response.

County prosecutors have asked the FBI to investigate the shooting.

In a statement on Facebook, Brodsky said Rialmo “was taken aback by the speed in which the family of Mr. LeGrier rushed to file a lawsuit”. “He said he had never heard of an officer blaming his shooting victim for causing trauma”.

Besides, as Turner said of the emotional toll policing often causes, “That’s a known part of the job”.