Jury's Verdict Against Chicago Cop In Shooting Lawsuit Reversed

CHICAGO, IL — The family of Quintonio LeGrier, the bat-wielding 19-year-old who was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer the day after Christmas in 2015, thought it had received a legal victory Wednesday after a Cook County jury determined the shooting wasn't justified. After deliberating for more than three hours, jurors reached a verdict in favor of the LeGrier family in its wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Chicago and Ofc. Robert Rialmo, awarding the teen's estate more than $1 million, according to the Chicago Tribune.

But that victory was short-lived. Judge Rena Marie Van Tine ruled that a signed special question to the jury that determined Rialmo feared for his safety when he opened fire outweighed the panel's original verdict, according to the Chicago Tribune. Even though that question — known as a special interrogatory — contradicted the delivered verdict, Van Tine reversed the jury's ruling, despite objections from the LeGrier family, the report added.

The verdict's reversal also meant erasing the $1.05 million in damages to LeGrier's family and estate. After the eight-day trial ended Wednesday, the jury's foreman said he thought the damages still would be imposed, the Tribune reports.

In the incident Dec. 26, 2015, Rialmo shot and killed LeGrier, an engineering student at Northern Illinois University, at a West Garfield Park home after responding to a 911 call that the teen had been threatening his father. Rialmo claimed he fired at LeGrier because the teen was swinging a metal bat at him.

More Patch Coverage:

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• Off-Duty Bar Fight Video Released Of Cop Who Shot LeGrier, Jones
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• $16M Deal Reached In Fatal Shooting Of Grandma By Chicago Cop

One part of the original ruling that did not change was the decision concerning Rialmo's countersuit against LeGrier's family. The jury sided with the officer, who blamed the teen for the shooting and claimed it caused him emotional distress. But Rialmo wasn't awarded damage, according to the Tribune.

LeGrier wasn't the only victim from the shots fired by Rialmo. Bettie Jones, 55, had opened the door for Rialmo, and the grandmother and mother of five had been standing behind LeGrier when she was accidentally hit by gunfire.

In May, a tentative $16 million settlement was reached between the City of Chicago and Jones' family. The City Council still needs to approve the proposed deali and if that happens, the payout would be among the biggest by the city concerning a police-involved shooting.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office decided not to file criminal charges against Rialmo last year following an investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority, the Illinois State Police and the FBI. Prosecutors cited "insufficient evidence" to prove the officer didn't act in self-defense in the shooting as the reason not to press charges.

In December of last year, Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability called the shooting unjustified and asked that Rialmo, who was placed on desk duty following the incident, be fired.

In a separate case, Rialmo also is being investigated for his role in a bar fight while he was off-duty. He is accused of punching two men during an December 2017 incident at Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria on the Far Northwest Side and has been charged with two counts of battery and a count of theft stemming from the incident.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Quintonio LeGrier (Photo via Patch archive)