Officer who killed 2 charged with misdemeanors for bar fight
CHICAGO (AP) - A Chicago police officer who fatally shot a teenager and a woman bystander in 2015 has been charged in connection with a December restaurant fight.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says Officer Robert Rialmo turned himself in Monday after being charged with two counts of battery and one count of theft, all misdemeanors.
Rialmo is alleged to have punched two men in the face. The theft charge was brought because Rialmo allegedly took the jacket of one of the men he hit. Rialmo was stripped of his police powers after the fight.
Rialmo's lawyer, Joel Brodsky, said a video of the altercation shows the officer was defending himself against "highly intoxicated aggressors."
Rialmo fatally shot 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and 55-year-old Bettie Jones. He claims he fired at LeGrier because the teen swung at him with a baseball bat.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability concluded the teen didn't swing at Rialmo and recommended the officer's firing.