(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is proceeding with gun charges against a 17-year-old boy from Oak Lawn whose arrest and beating by police officers was captured on video.
Supporters of Hadi Abuatelah gathered at the Juvenile Courts Building Thursday and said charges should be filed against the Oak Lawn officers who repeatedly beat the teen after he ran from a traffic stop.
Oak Lawn Police Chief Daniel Vittorio has said the use of force was justified because officers feared the teen could have a gun in a bag he fled with. Police say they found a gun after they took Abuatelah down. In the video, officers can be seen punching him repeatedly as he's on the ground.
Prosecutors charged the teen with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, a Cook County Clerk spokesperson told CBS Chicago.
Supporters of Abuatelah, whose family has filed a lawsuit, say police used excessive force. The teen spent days in the hospital recovering from his wounds.
Abuatelah is due back in Juvenile Court on Sept. 22. The judge in his case also set a 10 p.m. curfew for him, CBS Chicago reports.
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