Chicago

Chicago's Top Cop Disagrees with Watchdog Agency's Ruling on 2015 Fatal Shooting: Reports

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson rejected a recommendation from the city's police disciplinary body, which last year ruled that the 2015 officer-involved shooting that killed a teen boy and an innocent bystander was "not justified," according to multiple reports. 

In a letter to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, obtained by both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, Johnson wrote that Officer Robert Rialmo was justified in shooting 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and bystander Bettie Jones. 

The letter, which police could not confirm due to a gag order in the case, states that LeGrier, who was armed with a bat, presented a serious threat, according to the reports.

Rialmo's attorney confirmed reports on the letter were accurate. 

"We are pleased that a decision is finally being made on the facts and it is being acknowledged that Officer Rialmo was justified in using deadly force when he was being attacked by Quintonio LeGrier with a baseball bat," Attorney Joel Brodsky said in a statement. 

The shooting happened the day after Christmas in 2015, when Rialmo responded to an apartment complex in the 4700 block of West Erie Street. When Rialmo arrived, he reported LeGrier was swinging a baseball bat, which he said caused him to open fire. Bettie Jones was “tragically” killed by an errant gunshot, police have said.

Police oversight investigators have ruled that no evidence backed up Rialmo's story that he was prompted to shoot when LeGrier swung a bat while running at him. 

Rialmo was stripped of his police powers after being involved in a bar fight in January, but he remained on paid desk duty. 

Johnson had up to 90 days from the ruling to decide whether to recommend Rialmo's firing to the Chicago Police Board. 

A judge has ordered Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson to sit for sworn depositions in a lawsuit filed by LeGrier's family. 

Attorneys for the city had worked to keep Johnson's letter secret, and a ruling from a judge Tuesday gave a protective order that prevented dissemination of the letter until next month. 

The latest development is not the end for the case, however. Johnson will still need to meet with COPA leaders in an attempt to reach an agreement in the case. If no agreement is reached, the two will present their information to a one-person panelt at the Chicago Police Board. That person can either accept the superintendent's finding or forward the case to the full Police Board for hearings. 

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