A Chicago Police sergeant charged with two counts of official misconduct and one count of aggravated battery for grabbing a Park Ridge 14-year-old and pinning him down on the sidewalk last summer was found not guilty on all three counts.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.Sergeant Michael Vitellaro, in suit and tie, descends a staircase in the Skokie Cook County Circuit Courthouse with family and supporters after a judge found him not guilty of three counts of aggravated battery and official misconduct for his actions toward a 14-year-old boy last summer in Park Ridge.
During a three-day trial last week, prosecutors from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office contended that Vitellaro went “rogue” and overreacted with rage after his son’s bicycle was stolen and he saw the teen handling it outside of a Starbucks in Park Ridge. McKay argued that the charges against Vitellaro were overblown, calling the case “another Kim Foxx special,” in reference to the Cook County state’s attorney who has been criticized as an overzealous prosecutor of police officers.
Nor could he ignore the fact that the family had retained civil lawyers shortly after the incident took place, he said.To the teenagers who testified in the trial, Pavlus said “don’t let this define you. I think you were confronted with so much outside distraction … you lost your way,” he said. “Vitellaro will have to testify in that suit,” attorney Antonio Romanucci added. “He will undergo cross examination and he will undergo continued questioning. Then we’ll see what truth comes out.”“This fight for justice is not over,” attorney Javier Rodriguez said, adding that he saw the ruling as “a character assassination of a straight A student.”
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