An off-duty Chicago police sergeant went “rogue” in allegedly tackling a Park Ridge teen and pinning him to a sidewalk, prosecutors argued in court Monday. An attorney for former Sergeant Michael Vitellaro characterized the case as a “Kim Foxx special.'
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.Former Chicago Police Sergeant Michael Vitellaro, center, exits a courtroom behind his attorney James McKay, right.
The attorney insisted the case did not belong in criminal court and argued the sergeant had acted according to his law enforcement training when he believed he saw a crime taking place.Vitellaro faces two counts of official misconduct and one count of aggravated battery following an incident last July in which he grabbed a then-14-year-old boy, wrestled him flat on the ground, stomach down, and held him there while accusing the boy of taking his son’s bike.
“This case is about a rogue officer who rushed to judgment and acted out of rage, not out of reason,” Assistant State’s Attorney Alyssa Janicki said in her opening argument. He emphasized the connection between the boy and another teenager who allegedly removed the bike from the Park Ridge Public Library, pointing out different instances in surveillance footage when the two boys were seen walking away from the incident together and highlighting the close friendship between the teen and a third boy who was allegedly present when Vitellaro’s son’s bike went missing.
McKay also suggested that the boy and his family hoped to profit off of the case, citing a GoFundMe page the boy’s mother posted in the days after the incident and the fact that the family has retained the legal firm Romanucci Blandin, LLC to represent them.
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