Lawyer for former Chicago sergeant accused of tackling Park Ridge teen calls case ‘Kim Foxx special.’ Prosecutors say cop went ‘rogue.’

An off-duty Chicago police sergeant went “rogue” in allegedly tackling a Park Ridge young teen and pinning him to a sidewalk, Cook County prosecutors argued in court Monday.

But an attorney for former Sergeant Michael Vitellaro characterized the case as a “Kim Foxx special,” referencing the Cook County state’s attorney, who some police officers have seen as overzealous in holding law enforcement to account. The attorney insisted the case did not belong in criminal court and argued the sergeant had acted according to his law enforcement training when he believed he saw a crime taking place.

Vitellaro faces two counts of official misconduct and one count of aggravated battery following an incident last July in which he grabbed a then-14-year-old boy, wrestled him flat on the ground, stomach down, and held him there while accusing the boy of taking his son’s bike. It happened outside a coffee shop on Northwest Highway in Park Ridge.

Read more of Caroline Kubzansky's reporting in the Chicago Tribune.