A Chicago officer involved in the fatal police shooting of a teen and an innocent bystander in late 2015 was mistakenly allowed back on the streets this summer while he was supposed to remain on desk duty, police revealed Thursday.
Officer Robert Rialmo and his partner were both placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of a use-of-force investigation following the shooting deaths of 19-year-old Guintonio LeGrier and his neighbor Bettie Jones.
After completing the routine administrative duty in February, Rialmo remained in an administrative capacity in the 16th District, authorities said.
Still, in June, an oversight put Rialmo back on the streets as the city braced for an exceptionally violent summer.
According to a statement from police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, Rialmo was mistakenly detailed to the “summer mobile unit” due to his low seniority. Guglielmi said the “appropriate notifications were not made up the chain of command” in the Bureaus of Internal Affairs and Patrol.
“The Department takes this oversight very seriously and has instituted corrective policy reforms to prevent future recurrences,” the statement read. “The Chief of Patrol has also begun the command level discipline process and enacted a policy across the entire bureau that any move, detail or transfer must get formal sign-off by the Bureau of Internal Affairs in addition to the Bureau of Patrol. Additionally, the Superintendent has expanded this policy across all Bureaus, Sections and Offices within the Chicago Police Department.”
Rialmo's attorney, Joel Brodsky, said in a statement that the police, Independent Police Review Authority, mayor's office and corporation counsel's office all knew Rialmo had been put back on the street.
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Brodsky says Rialmo was being retaliated against by the police department and city of Chicago for filing suit against the city.
"Officer Rialmo had been threatened that if he didn't stop what he was doing, and do whatever the city of Chicago and its lawyers aid he should do, the city would take actions that would put his career and financial future in jeopardy," the statement reads.
In the statement, Brodsky details what he says is the failure of the city to adequately address the mental health needs of the city's residents. Brodsky says the city closed mental health facilities with the knowledge that it would lead to "substantially more interactions" between police and residents suffering from mental health problems.
"Officer Rialmo will not budge, and he will show in court how the city of Chicago puts the interests of the citizens who live in the poor neighborhoods of the city last, and will use all of its power to try to hurt those who will speak out about what is wrong and what needs to be changed," according to Brodsky's statement.
LeGrier, 19, and Jones, 55, were shot at about 4:25 a.m. on Dec. 26 in the 4700 block of West Erie as officers were responding to a call of a domestic disturbance, police said.
Neighbors and family members at the scene said that the domestic disturbance stemmed from LeGrier threatening his father with a metal baseball bat. He was a sophomore honor student at Northern Illinois University studying engineering.
Jones, the second shooting victim, was a mother of five, according to family members. She lived in the same building as LeGrier.
The police department confirmed Jones was a casualty, saying she was "accidentally struck and tragically killed. The department extends its deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends."
In a lawsuit filed by Rialmo, the Chicago officer claims LeGrier assaulted him before any shots were fired, and claims that the accidental shooting death of Jones is LeGrier’s fault, not his. But LeGrier's attorney says the teen was 20-30 feet from Rialmo and police reports show the officer gave differing accounts of what happened.
Rialmo’s lawsuit is a counter-claim attached to the wrongful death suit originally filed against the city by LeGrier's father, Antonio LeGrier, Brodsky says.
Both deaths were ruled homicides, and the IPRA continues to investigate. On Dec. 28, Mayor Emanuel announced a new policy following the incident that officers involved in shootings would be immediately removed from field duties.
