The Chicago Police officer who shot and killed two people is now suing the family of one of the victims, claiming the man’s actions caused him extreme emotional distress.
Officer Robert Rialmo shot 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier while responding to a call back in December and said he accidentally shot LeGrier’s 55-year-old neighbor Bettie Jones in the process. Both LeGrier and Jones were killed. Rialmo’s lawsuit said he used deadly force at close because LeGrier swung a baseball bat at him and blames LeGrier for Jones’ death.
"The emotional distress is not because LeGrier tried to hit him with a baseball bat. The emotional distress that he’s going under, the emotional stress he is suffering is that Quintonio LeGrier forced him to take both LeGrier’s life and the life of an innocent person, Bettie Jones," said Rialmo’s attorney, Joel Brodsky.
The families of LeGrier and Jones, who have both filed wrongful death suits, said they are angry over Rialmo’s decision to sue.
"First you shoot him, then you sue him. Is that the new standard for the Chicago Police Department? I don’t think we want that as Chicagoans," said Basileios Foutris, attorney for the LeGrier family.
Several Chicago aldermen have asked the city to settle the lawsuit as soon as possible so that they can move forward in the case.
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