Citing ‘trauma,’ cop sues estate of teen he killed
A Chicago police officer who fatally shot a college student and his 55-yearold neighbor has filed a lawsuit against the teenager’s estate that blames the mentally ill 19-year-old for causing the officer “extreme emotional trauma.”
Officer Robert Rialmo’s lawsuit was filed Friday and offers the first public account of the moments before Rialmo shot and killed Quintonio LeGrier on Dec. 26.
The suit claims that Rialmo, who was arriving at the scene of a domestic disturbance with another officer, opened fire after the teenager twice swung a bat at the officer’s head and then raised the weapon a third time, leading Rialmo to fear that his life was in danger, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The round that killed Le Grier also killed 55-year-old Bettie Jones, a downstairs neighbor and mother of five who was sta nding near LeGrier and was not part of the disturbance that had drawn police to the residence. In an apologetic statement the next day, police confirmed that her death was accidental.
Rialmo is seeking $10 million in damages, according to the Associated Press.
“The fact that LeGrier’s actions had forced Officer Rialmo to end LeGrier’s life and to accidentally take the innocent life of Bettie Jones has caused, and will continue to cause, Officer Rialmo to suffer extreme emotional trauma,” the filing says.
The suit comes at a time when public officials are grappling with questions about how t he Chicago Police Department can ea rn back public trust, which has been eroded by a series of shootings and other incidents involving police misconduct.
Rialmo’s account differs sharply in key ways from claims made by LeGrier’s father, Antonio LeGrier, who has filed a wrongfuldeath l awsuit i n Cook County Circuit Court.
That suit, which called the shooting “excessive and unreasonable,” claims the teenager “never had possession or control of a weapon” and “never posed a danger of threat or harm,” according to the Tribune.
Antonio LeGrier’s attorney, Basileios Foutris, told the AP that Rialmo’s highly unusual suit, which is a countersuit in the LeGrier case, is “outlandish.”
“After this coward shot a teenager in the back ... he has the temerity to sue him?” he said. “That’s a new low for the Chicago Police Department.”
Rialmo’s attorney, Joel Brodsky, said the lawsuit is an opportunity to tell the grieving officer’s side of the story.