Lawsuit Filed Against Illinois Cop Who Pinned Teen to Ground [VIDEO]

An off-duty Chicago Police officer is facing a civil lawsuit filed by the family of a teenager after the officer was seen on a 2022 video pinning the boy to the ground.

Why Does an Off-Duty CPD Officer Have His Knee In The Back of This Teen?

According to a social media post from Nicole Nieves, the incident began when her son was at a Starbucks in Park Ridge when an off-duty officer from the Chicago Police Department thought the teen was stealing his son's bicycle.

In a post on her Facebook page, NIeves said the supposed "proof" the officer had was her "son’s hands were on the bike as he was moving it out the way, while he was in possession of his own bike right next to him."

This adult did not use words—he used force; he used his hands. Grabbed our son’s wrists, body slammed him, then held him down with his knee to forcibly restrain him. -Nicole Nieves via Facebook

 

Family Files Civil Lawsuit against City of Chicago, Officer

The off-duty CPD officer in the video is 22-year veteran Michael Vitellaro, according to WGN-TV. Vitellaro was found not guilty of all criminal charges by a Cook County Judge, but the father of the teenage boy believes "the criminal trial was wrong. Period."

He said in a story with WGN-TV that despite the result of a criminal case they will "press on and we will fiercely fight for justice and accountability, which we have every right to do."