As soon as their loved ones have been buried, families rush to file a lawsuit, knowing that the cases are likely to be settled out of court with a big payoff
BarkGrowlBite | February 8, 2016
On December 26, 2015, Chicago police officer Robert Rialmo shot dead 19-year-old college student Quintonio LeGrier and accidentally killed a neighbor. The officer is white and both of those he shot were black.
Rialmo says that LeGrier twice swung a bat at his head at close range, and when LeGrier raised the bat again, he opened fire because he was afraid he was about to be killed.
LeGrier's father has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, seeking more than $180,000, plus court and attorney fees. He claims that his son was never a threat to Rialmo.
On Friday, Officer Rialmo filed a lawsuit against the college student’s estate, claiming that LeGrier's actions prompted the shooting and caused the officer “extreme emotional trauma.”
LeGrier's father says Rialmo countersuit was an attempt to deflect blame. Others believe it is designed to intimidate LeGrier into dropping his lawsuit.
Basileios Foutris, the attorney for LeGrier's father, called the officer’s suit “Outlandish” for suing a grieving family. “After this coward shot a teenager in the back ... he has the temerity to sue him? That's a new low for the Chicago Police Department,” Foutris said.
New low or not, LeGrier's father couldn’t wait to file his lawsuit. And it has been the same with the families of other police shooting victims across the country. They treat the deaths of their loved ones like a winning lottery ticket, knowing that the cases are likely to be settled out of court with a big payoff.
I’m in Officer Rialmo’s corner! I hope he wins his lawsuit, although I think it will be hard for him to get a jury to rule in his favor against a ‘grieving’ family.
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