(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The family of the 14-year-old boy who was pinned to the ground by a Chicago police sergeant in a confrontation over a bicycle has filed suit, alleging false imprisonment.
Almost two weeks after Chicago Police Sgt. Michael Vitellaro was acquitted of battery and misconduct, the Park Ridge family of the teenager with whom he had a confrontation has sued Vitellaro and the city of Chicago.
“Let me be clear. This was an attack, an unprovoked attack on our son, who's an honors and [Advance Placement] student, a three-sport athlete,” Nicole Nieves, the mother of the teenager, said at a news conference Tuesday.
James McKay, the attorney for Vitellaro, says the teenager was not injured when the off-duty police officer pinned him to the ground.
"The force used was not forceful, and what Sergeant Vitellaro was doing was effectuating a lawful arrest."
Vitellaro had said he believed Nieves’ son was trying to steal his child’s bicycle – allegations denied by the teen’s family. Nicole Nieves notes her son had his own bicycle when the confrontation occurred outside a Starbucks.
A spokesperson for the city says the Chicago Law Department will review the lawsuit but has comment on pending litigation.
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