The household of Josh Nieves, the 14-year-old boy pinned to the bottom by an off-duty cop for transferring a motorcycle, is suing town of Chicago and the police officer, Michael A. Vitellaro.
On July 1, 2022, Vitellaro pinned down Nieves, placing his knee on the small of his again, exterior of a Chicago Starbucks after Vitellaro suspected Nieves of stealing Vitellaro’s son’s bike. Vitellaro was charged with official misconduct and aggravated battery however was discovered not responsible earlier this month.
Now Nieves’ household is suing. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, states that Nieves was speaking to his mates exterior a Starbucks on his bike. When he needed to relaxation his bike, in opposition to a pillar, he repositioned Vitellaro’s son’s bike, which was allegedly stolen and brought to Starbucks by another person, and that’s when Vitellaro accused him of stealing his son’s bike and utilized “strain along with his proper hand to [Nieves’s] left shoulder, in what can solely be described as a transparent show of extreme and unjustified use of power in opposition to a minor.”
Angel Nieves, Josh Nieves’ father, in a information launch, stated, “The misuse of power, irrational habits, and unprovoked actions of this Chicago police sergeant can not go unchecked, so we’ll proceed to struggle for our son and, in doing so, hope to advocate for others who really feel unvoiced of their pursuit of justice.”
Earlier this month, Josh Nieves instructed the court docket: “I used to be shocked. I believed I used to be going to lose my life.”
Throughout his testimony, the teenager stated he had nothing to do with the theft of Vitellaro’s son’s bike. The Nieves household stated they consider Vitellaro’s assault on the youth was “racially motivated.” Based on the lawsuit, Josh Nieves “sustained accidents of a private and pecuniary nature, together with severe emotional harm, on account of stated confinement,” and he “fairly feared that he would maintain important bodily harm” and that he suffered “extreme emotional misery, together with nervousness, concern, anger, embarrassment, and humiliation.”
Town of Chicago didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
“Vitellaro’s conduct shocked each the neighborhood of Park Ridge, in addition to first rate individuals all over the world,” stated Nieves’ legal professional Javier Rodriguez, Jr. “This conduct can’t be tolerated, and each Vitellaro and the Metropolis of Chicago will probably be held accountable for his or her actions. We sit up for questioning Sergeant Vitellaro on the stand and holding him to account earlier than a twelve-person jury of his friends, and, additional, permitting a jury to resolve for themselves what justice and accountability appear to be.”