Chicago cop sues estate of black teen he shot dead, claiming 'extreme emotional trauma'

Chicago protesters demonstrate after the police shooting death of Quintonio LeGrier

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

last updated 8 February 2016

On Friday, Chicago Police Officer Robert Rialmo filed a $10 million lawsuit against the estate of Quintonio LeGrier, a 19-year-old black college student he shot dead on Dec. 26, 2015, along with innocent bystander Bettie Jones, 55. In his suit, a counterclaim against a wrongful-death suit filed by LeGrier's estate, Rialmo claims that LeGrier charged at him with a baseball bat. "There is no question that [Rialmo] suffered very extreme emotional trauma and stress as a result of what Quintonio LeGrier did," says Rialmo's lawyer, Joel A. Brodsky. LeGrier "forced him to shoot," Brodsky said, adding that Rialmo "feels extremely horrible" about killing Jones.

Basileios J. Fourtris, a lawyer for LeGrier's family, said Rialmo's version of events was "pure fantasy." He noted that LeGrier called 911 three times, and was hung up on, before Rialmo arrived, asking, "Why would a kid that called three times asking for police help ever swing a bat at a cop?" "It's a new low for the Chicago Police Department," Foutris added, according to The New York Times. "First you shoot them, then you sue them. It's outrageous." Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Rialmo's legal action is "not a department lawsuit," and Adam Collins, a spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, told The Times that "the city does not support" Rialmo's counterclaim "and is not involved in any way."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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