Officer Robert Rialmo, the Chicago cop who shot and killed a 19-year-old victim alongside a mother of five the day after Christmas, is suing the teen’s estate. A lawyer for Rialmo confirmed that he will file a civil lawsuit against the family of Quintonio LeGrier within the next couple of weeks.
LeGrier was killed after cops arrived to the apartment on a domestic violence call involving the college student, who was home for the holidays, and his father. LeGrier was described as being “combative” when police arrived, even though he was the one who initially called them.
Rialmo claims to have been assaulted by LeGrier. The alleged assault and emotional distress, will be cited in his lawsuit. LeGrier’s family sued the city of Chicago this month. “This guy came after my client with a baseball bat trying to kill him,” Rialmo’s attorney Joel Brodsky said. “As a result of that, an innocent person was killed, and my client is very broken up about that.”
Instead of de-escalating the situation cops shot LeGrier six times. A 55-year-old neighbor, Bettie Jones, was “accidentally struck, and tragically killed” as she opened the door. LeGrier and Jones died near the building’s entrance. According to the Medical Examiner’s report, cops opened fire in the hallway, but attornies representing LeGrier’s family suggest officers fired from the curb.
Despite being painted as the aggressor, LeGrier called cops to his father’s apartment three separate times, in the early morning hours of Dec. 26. On the first call, LeGrier can be heard asking for an office at “4710 West Erie Street,” without giving further detail. “No, I don’t work like that,” the dispatcher replied. “What’s your emergency?”
LeGrier would go on to tell a third dispatcher that someone was “threatening” his life. That final call lasted more than a minute. “Are you going to send the police or not?” LeGrier says to an irritated dispatcher. “Are you going to answer my question?” the dispatcher counters. “I’m talking to you. If you can’t answer the questions, how do you expect me to assist you?”
Officers didn’t arrive until after a fourth call placed by LaGrier’s father, Antonio, who said his son had a “baseball bat in his hand.”
“For them to hang up on him, we want to know what that call taker was thinking,” said Larry Rogers, the attorney representing Jones’s family. “How could she possibly think that was the proper way to handle someone who was in need of police assistance?”
In addition to the 43 dash cam videos he’s received, Rogers wants surveillance from the area, the dispatchers’ names and titles; as well as text messages between Rialmo and his partner on the night of the shooting.
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Photo: screencap
