The Chicago police officer who shot and killed a 19-year-old is planning to sue his victim as he said the teenager assaulted him and caused emotional distress.
Officer Robert Rialto shot Mr LeGrier seven times because he alleged the teenager swung a bat at him. Officer Rialto also accidentally shot a neighbor, Bettie Jones, in the chest and killed her.
Bill Foutris, the LeGrier family’s lawyer, told CBS Chicago that the Officer’s suit is a “desperate attempt” to divert attention from the fact that Mr Rialto shot Mr LeGrier four times in the back without just cause.
Mr LeGrier was killed just after Christmas. He called 911 before he was killed but the phone operator ignored his pleas and hung up on him.
According to ThinkProgress, it is not uncommon for officers to charge victims with assault - a tactic known as “cover charge”. In 2013 the police charged an unarmed man with assault when they missed their target - him - and shot two women standing nearby in Times Square instead.
Chicago is still reeling this week from new video footage that shows Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke shooting another teenager, Laquan McDonald, 16 times.
Superintendant Garry McCarthy has been fired and pressure on police accountability is growing.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel released Mr McCathy’s text messages on Tuesday from the week of Mr LeGrier’s shooting, which show more concern about the media reaction than the victim or police failures.
The police has also been accused of trying to destroy misconduct records and tampering with dashcam recordings, presumably to hide any evidence of wrongdoing.
