Nieves family 'relieved and pleased' by felony charges against Chicago Police Sergeant for aggression against their son without cause

Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, released the following statements in connection with charges against Chicago Police Sergeant Michael Vitellaro in connection with an incident last month in Park Ridge, where a video captured Vitellaro pinning a 14-year-old boy to the ground with a knee on his back with no probable cause to do so.  Vitellaro has been charged with two felonies: official misconduct and aggravated battery.  

“The charges today against Chicago Police Sergeant Vitellaro are an accurate reflection of what we all saw on the video: An abuse of power, not just without probable cause, but with zero cause.  The felony charges show the gravity of this type of aggression and that the enforcement of laws in our communities must start with law enforcement officers themselves. There can be no impunity for officers who break the law, and they must be held to the same standards as regular citizens.  Further, we will continue to press for justice not only in the criminal proceedings that have begun today, but our legal team is preparing to file a civil complaint in this case and we are calling for administrative justice, as well, and want to make sure this officer no longer has the ability to abuse his power again,” said Antonio M. Romanucci, Founding Partner of Romanucci & Blandin. 

“We are extremely relieved and pleased to see charges for what happened to our son, and we thank both the Park Ridge Police, Kim Foxx and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office Law Enforcement Accountability Division for this important step in justice for our son.  We are still trying to assess the full impact of this traumatic incident on our son, who is only 14 and still processing all that happened to him.  There is absolutely no room in our community for this type of unnecessary aggression against our children and we are grateful for today’s progress,”  said Angel and Nicole Nieves, parents.

The Nieves family is represented by Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci, Partner Bhavani K. Raveendran and Attorney Javier Rodriguez, Jr.