Chicago cop who killed 2 charged with misdemeanors for December bar fight
Robert Rialmo
A Chicago police officer who faces potential firing for fatally shooting two people in 2015  has been charged with misdemeanor offenses following an off-duty bar fight last month.
 Officer Robert Rialmo  turned  himself  in to a police station Monday and was arrested on two counts of battery and one count of theft  all misdemeanors  said Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.  He  was released on  his  own recognizance  department officials said.
 Rialmo  is alleged to have punched two men in the face  knocking them to the floor  about 2:45 a.m. Dec. 17 at Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria on the Far Northwest Side  according to police reports and Guglielmi. By the time police arrived at the scene   Rialmo  was gone  the spokesman said.
 Rialmo’s  lawyer  Joel Brodsky  said video of the altercation — which has yet to be made public — shows that the officer was defending himself against “highly intoxicated aggressors.” Brodsky also denied  Rialmo  stole the jacket.
Top department officials stripped  Rialmo  of his police powers days after the bar incident.
At the time of the alleged fight   Rialmo  was already on paid desk duty pending an investigation into his fatal shooting of Quintonio LeGrier  19  and bystander Bettie Jones  55  the day after Christmas 2015 on the West Side. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability ruled five days after the tavern incident that the shooting was unjustified.
LeGrier came at  Rialmo  and his partner with an aluminum baseball bat in his hand as the officers responded to a call of a domestic disturbance.  Rialmo  shot the teen and accidentally hit Jones  a neighbor standing nearby.
But COPA voiced skepticism about  Rialmo ’s account of the confrontation  determining that the teen likely was further from  Rialmo  when he opened fire than the officer had said. Investigators also concluded that LeGrier likely did not swing the bat at  the Rialmo   as the officer had contended.
COPA recommended that  Rialmo  be fired for the shooting  but Superintendent Eddie Johnson still has months to decide what  if any  discipline he might seek from the Chicago Police Board.
Brodsky and police union officials have decried the ruling and vowed to challenge it. The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police has accused COPA of using the alleged bar fight to pressure Johnson to seek  Rialmo ’s firing in the shooting.
Jones  who lived downstairs  answered the door and pointed police to the second floor. LeGrier then came down the stairs with a bat  according to an analysis released by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office  which declined to bring criminal charges against  Rialmo  last February.
The officers moved toward the front landing as LeGrier came at them with the bat  prosecutors wrote. As  Rialmo  backed down the stairs  he fired eight times  hitting LeGrier six times  according to prosecutors. Jones  who was standing behind the teen  was shot once in the chest.
Brodsky has said his client was justified in firing in self-defense  but COPA investigators voiced doubts about  Rialmo 's accounts. COPA found that no one corroborated the officer's contention that LeGrier swung the bat  while investigators concluded that the evidence suggested that  Rialmo  was several feet farther from the teen when  he  opened fire than the officer had said.
The survivors of both LeGrier and Jones sued  Rialmo  and the city.  Rialmo   meanwhile  took the unusual step of suing the city  alleging in part that he was inadequately trained.  Rialmo  is also suing LeGrier's estate  blaming the teen for the shooting and contending it emotionally traumatized the officer.
A Chicago police officer who faces potential firing for fatally shooting two people in 2015  has been charged with misdemeanor offenses following an off-duty bar fight last month.
 [TGT]turned  [TGT]  in to a police station Monday and was arrested on two counts of battery and one count of theft  all misdemeanors  said Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.  He  was released on  his  own recognizance  department officials said.
 [TGT]is alleged to have punched two men in the face  knocking them to the floor  about 2:45 a.m. Dec. 17 at Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria on the Far Northwest Side  according to police reports and Guglielmi. By the time police arrived at the scene   [TGT]was gone  the spokesman said.
 Rialmo’s  lawyer  Joel Brodsky  said video of the altercation — which has yet to be made public — shows that [TGT] was defending [TGT] against “highly intoxicated aggressors.” Brodsky also denied  [TGT]stole the jacket.
Top department officials stripped  Rialmo  of his police powers days after the bar incident.
At the time of the alleged fight   [TGT]was already on paid desk duty pending an investigation into [TGT] fatal shooting of Quintonio LeGrier  19  and bystander Bettie Jones  55  the day after Christmas 2015 on the West Side. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability ruled five days after the tavern incident that the shooting was unjustified.
LeGrier came at  Rialmo  and his partner with an aluminum baseball bat in his hand as the officers responded to a call of a domestic disturbance.  [TGT]shot the teen and accidentally hit Jones  a neighbor standing nearby.
But COPA voiced skepticism about  Rialmo ’s account of the confrontation  determining that the teen likely was further from  Rialmo  when he opened fire than the officer had said. Investigators also concluded that LeGrier likely did not swing the bat at  the Rialmo   as the officer had contended.
COPA recommended that  [TGT]be fired for the shooting  but Superintendent Eddie Johnson still has months to decide what  if any  discipline he might seek from the Chicago Police Board.
Brodsky and police union officials have decried the ruling and vowed to challenge it. The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police has accused COPA of using the alleged bar fight to pressure Johnson to seek  Rialmo ’s firing in the shooting.
Jones  who lived downstairs  answered the door and pointed police to the second floor. LeGrier then came down the stairs with a bat  according to an analysis released by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office  which declined to bring criminal charges against  Rialmo  last February.
The officers moved toward the front landing as LeGrier came at them with the bat  prosecutors wrote. As  Rialmo  backed down the stairs  he fired eight times  hitting LeGrier six times  according to prosecutors. Jones  who was standing behind the teen  was shot once in the chest.
Brodsky has said his client was justified in firing in self-defense  but COPA investigators voiced doubts about  Rialmo 's accounts. COPA found that no one corroborated the officer's contention that LeGrier swung the bat  while investigators concluded that the evidence suggested that  Rialmo  was several feet farther from the teen when  he  opened fire than the officer had said.
The survivors of both LeGrier and Jones sued  Rialmo  and the city.  Rialmo   meanwhile  took the unusual step of suing the city  alleging in part that he was inadequately trained.  Rialmo  is also suing LeGrier's estate  blaming the teen for the shooting and contending it emotionally traumatized the officer.