Report: CPD Supt. Rejects COPA Findings, Backs Officer In Double Fatal Shooting

CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson reportedly concluded Officer Robert Rialmo was justified when he fatally shot 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier, and accidentally shot and killed 55-year-old Bettie Jones in 2015, rejecting a recommendation to fire the officer.

In December, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability ruled Rialmo was not justified when he opened fire on LeGrier in the vestibule of a West Side home, killing him, and Jones, an innocent bystander. COPA recommended Rialmo be fired.

The Sun-Times reports Johnson has rejected COPA’s findings in a letter he sent to the agency on March 22, and argued the shootings were justified and within department policy.

COPA investigators said they didn’t find any evidence to back up Rialmo’s claims he was prompted to shoot LeGrier when the teenager charged at him swinging a baseball bat. Jones was killed as she stood in the doorway.

The COPA report said Rialmo’s statements were “inconsistent and ultimately unreliable.” Investigators also said evidence suggested Rialmo was further away from LeGrier than he claimed when he opened fire.

“We find a reasonable officer in Officer Rialmo’s position would not have believed he was in imminent harm of death or great bodily harm at the time Officer Rialmo began firing his weapon,” investigators stated.

from CBS Chicago https://ift.tt/2upxmAT