Nieves Press Conference

Romanucci & Blandin is calling for accountability and justice related to excessive force conduct used by an alleged off-duty Chicago Police Officer on a 14-year-old honor student in Park Ridge, Illinois on July 1. The boy is Puerto Rican-American and the officer is white. The incident happened outside the Starbucks at Euclid and Northwest Highway, and the videotape of the encounter has gone viral, showing the man forcefully taking the boy to the ground, putting him in a prone position on his stomach and then putting a knee on the boy’s back. The officer told people at the scene he believed the boy had stolen his son’s bike.  The 14-year-old victim, who is a Straight-A student, a three-sport athlete and active in his church youth ministry, said he only touched the bike in question because it was on the sidewalk and was trying to pass by with his own bike with his friends. The boy's friends moved in calmly and cohesively to remove the boy from under the officer's knee and de-escalate the situation. The boy’s parents are calling for accountability from the officer and for justice for their son, including releasing the officer’s name and filing criminal charges for his conduct involving a child.