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excessive force
Off-Duty Cop Charged After Pinning Down Latino Teen He Wrongly Accused Of Stealing Son's Bike
A Chicago police sergeant who was off-duty has been charged after he was caught on video pinning down a 14-year-old boy of Puerto Rican descent in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge.
The police sergeant—who is White—claimed the teen was stealing his son's bike.
The Chicago Sun Times reported Sergeant Michael Vitellaro is facing felony charges of official misconduct and aggravated battery tied to the July 1, 2022 incident according to Park Ridge police.
The teen was sitting on his bike with some friends outside a Starbucks in Park Ridge before the assault. According to witness statements, the teen attempted to move Vitellaro's son's bike out of their way.
Vitellaro approached the boy and forced him to the pavement while pulling his arms behind his back before kneeling on him.
The teen's family released video footage of the aftermath, believing the incident to be racially motivated. The parents said their son is a straight A student and a 3 sport athlete who is active in his church.
The boy assaulted by Vitellaro was the only BIPOC in the group of teens.
\u201cChicago police sergeant Michael Vitellaro is now facing two felonies for pinning a 14-boy to the sidewalk in Park Ridge.\n\nProsecutors say Vitellaro falsely accused the boy of stealing a bike and filed an erroneous police report.\nhttps://t.co/YNwxzpqbAx\u201d— Mack Liederman (@Mack Liederman) 1660862354
The boy's parents, Angel and Nicole Nieves, issued a statement saying the charges against Vitellaro “are an accurate reflection of what we all saw on the video: An abuse of power, not just without probable cause but with zero cause.“
The statement continued:
"There is absolutely no room in our community for this type of unnecessary aggression against our children and we are grateful for today’s progress.”
At Thursday's court hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Mary McDonnell said the incident began when Vitellaro was informed his 13-year-old son's bike was stolen from the Park Ridge Public Library around 5:15 p.m on July 1.
When Vitellaro learned the stolen bike was spotted near a Starbucks at 100 S. Northwest Highway, he went to the location hoping to find the culprit. When Vitellaro saw Nieves' son touch the bike belonging to his son, Vitellaro subsequently approached him and put the boy in an “arm bar” and placed a knee on his back.
You can watch a clip of the incident here:
WARNING: violence against a minor
\u201cOff duty Chicago cop charged w felony for pinning 14 year old boy to the ground, knee to neck\n\nCop erroneously identifies only kid of color in crowd as stealing bike\n\nCourageous teens intervene to break it up\n\nWatch this\n\n#TruBlue #wtpBLUE #FreshResists \n\n\u201d— \ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a) 1660958074
None— Pharagamo \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Pharagamo \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1661205064
Vitellaro could be heard saying:
"He’s taking my son’s bike."
The boy's friends replied:
"No, he's not."
They tried to get their friend away from Vitellaro.
\u201chttps://t.co/CT1xAsbNPK Absolutely disgusting behavior, the Kid even told him that he wasn't stealing the bike but he still proceeded to do it anyways\u201d— \u2606 NullSpaceRabbit \u2606 (@\u2606 NullSpaceRabbit \u2606) 1661102696
\u201c@andy4democracy I am so proud of those young men for standing up so forcefully for their friend who was a target of a racist. We can protect each other from these racists! Stay aware and brave and keep filming! \u2764\ufe0f\u201d— \ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a) 1660958074
\u201c@JosephOConnell3 Crap, you\u2019re making young white kids uncomfortable with all those historical facts. We need to spin American fantasy-scapes to placate their families. \n\nExcluding folks from the spoils and making people feel like \u201cthe other\u201d are as American as apple fukn pie. \n\nFollowed.\u201d— \ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a) 1660958074
\u201c@andy4democracy I can't imagine how horrible it is for POC to live with the constant fear of this happening to their child. The racist profiling and use of excessive force by this cop must have consequences. \n\nKudos, to the teens who stepped up and brought this assault to an end.\u201d— \ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a) 1660958074
\u201c@10128brandywine @andy4democracy Good Maine South kids. So sad to see this. Lived in Park Ridge for 28 years. This cop likely lives in Edison Park, about a mile away. It is true that Park Ridge is an upscale white enclave.\u201d— \ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a) 1660958074
\u201c@andy4democracy @sarahbeth0404 Why would the boy try to steal a bike when he had his own?! This makes zero sense unless you\u2019re a racist Chicago cop. His friends are stand up kids. How sad that kids are more mature than the cop?\u201d— \ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a) 1660958074
\u201c@buckleyswartz @andy4democracy I agree, those boys instinctively knew that what that cop was doing was wrong and dangerous and acted to protect that boy. I am proud of all of them.\u201d— \ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0aAnd He\u2019s #TruBlue \ud83c\udf0a) 1660958074
When Vitellaro called 911, he said he was an off-duty police officer and needed help.
When an adult female bystander asked why Vitellaro was on top of the boy, he insisted the teen had stolen his son's bike.
Vitellaro eventually took his knee off the boy, and his friends pulled him up. Crying and visibly upset, the boy walked away while Vitellaro followed him around while the boy asked him to stop.
Vitellaro told responding Park Ridge police officers the 14-year-old was a bike thief, but after reviewing Starbucks' surveillance footage, it clearly showed the bike was already at the coffee shop before the teen and his friends even arrived.
You can watch an NBC News report of the incident here:
The next day, Vitellaro filed Chicago police reports labeling the incident as an “off-duty arrest" and describing the teen as the "offender" who was not complying with orders.
A Chicago police spokesperson said Vitellaro was relieved of his duties on Wednesday.
The police department and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability are both investigating his actions.
The boy's mother, Nicole Nieves, told NBC News:
"This is a situation where he faced something egregious and tragic, and he did happen to be the only Brown boy there."
"So that's an important factor of how we are processing this as a family."
The family's attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said at Thursday's news conference the Nieves have called for Vitellaro’s dismissal and they are preparing to file a civil lawsuit in the future.
Unsure of how the incident had impacted her son, the mother told WMAQ:
“I would say this is going to have a long-term effect on him."
"But so far, he’s showing some good signs of being able to process and move forward.”
Vitellaro's next court date is set for September 8.