While sifting through the muck and mire of daily headlines for the hottest issues to expand upon, the death of 19 year old Quintonio LeGrier by a Chicago police officer found its way to the top of the list. In the wake of the Laquan McDonald killing, this one slipped under the radar until something strange occured. As anyone with a pulse in Chicago knows, the killing of a Black youth by the cops is hardly news anymore, but when the police officer who did the killing sues the Black youth's estate, that is news. That's big news.
After responding to a domestic disturbance call on Dec. 26 2015, according to the cops, they were confronted by a baseball bat wielding Quintonio LeGrier. The situation escalating quickly, (according to the cops) Chicago police officer Robert Rialmo pumped six slugs into LeGrier and one mistakenly into innocent bystander Bettie Jones. Although officer Rialmo's slug pierced the heart of the 55 year old mother of five, Chicago cops are calling her death an accident. All things considered, at least a gun wasn't planted in her hand.
Following established African American protocols after a shooting of this nature, the LeGrier and Jones families quickly filed law suits to preserve evidence for criminal and civil rights violations cases. In Chicago, evidence in police shootings has a tendency to disappear as quickly as those investigating those shootings can make that happen. Facing a nationwide wave of anger over incidents like these, the shooter decided the best defense is a strong offense. Police Officer Robert Rialmo is countersuing Quintonio LeGrier's estate for assault and emotional distress to the tune of ten million dollars.
According to Officer Rialmo's attorney, "LeGrier knew his actions toward officer Rialmo were extreme and outrageous and that his conduct was atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community." But officer Rialmo's complaint didn't end there. It goes on to state, that by forcing officer Rialmo to shoot and kill LeGrier and Jones, he (the dead youth) caused Rialmo to suffer extreme emotional trauma.
BTW, Chicago officials wanted the public to know a toxicology report indicated Quintonio LeGrier had traces of marijuana in his system. We wanted the public to know Quintonio LeGrier was a 19 year old Black engineering student at Northern Illinois University.
Hunting for a legal for opinion to make sense out of this madness, we found Michael Kaufman, associate dean for academic affairs at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, stating "Most astute lawyers would encourage a client to file a counterclaim in a civil suit, but a police officer suing someone he's killed seems to be unusual." While most would agree, the "I was in fear for my life" defense has worn thin, this case is more than unusual, this is incredible.
Bottom line: If police officer Robert Rialmo's countersuit is successful, this could set a dangerous precedent for anyone killed by a police officer in the future. What if every police officer adopts this defense in the future? If victims and relatives of those who've suffered from police brutality or excessive force can't file a civil complaint without being sued by the very entities causing their pain and loss, America's law enforcers will have been given a license to kill, without their victims being able to say a word about it. Podcast below!
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