The off-duty Chicago police sergeant accused of pinning a teen to the ground in Park Ridge over a stolen bike last year was found not guilty of multiple charges on Friday in Cook County Court, NBC Chicago’s Natalie Martinez reports.
The off-duty Chicago police sergeant accused of pinning a teen to the ground in Park Ridge over a stolen bike last year was found not guilty of multiple charges on Friday in Cook County Court.
Michael Vitellaro was charged with official misconduct and aggravated battery in connection to an incident on July 1, 2022, when cell phone video captured him pinning down a 14-year-old boy outside of a Starbucks, after suspecting him of stealing his son’s bicycle.
One teen testified that he and multiple others were on their way to a movie when they heard commotion and saw one of his friends on the ground. The friend said he recorded the incident because he was “shocked” and wanted “hard evidence” if “something bad happened.” Defense attorneys argued the sergeant had probable cause for theft and acted “within the law,” using his police training to step in, saying Vitellaro believed it was his duty as an officer and father.
Following Friday's ruling, attorneys representing the family of the teen who was pinned to the ground issued a statement, saying, in part: "Michael Vitellaro escaped criminal justice today. He also escaped a jury trial by exercising his right to a bench trial, knowing full well the odds of a favorable outcome were improved. However, he will not be able to escape our pursuit of justice in the civil courts, and we plan on mounting a vigorous prosecution to bring him to justice."
In videos of the incident, Vitellaro can be heard telling police his son called his wife to say his bike had been stolen from the library. Vitellaro says he drives to pick up his son and both go searching for the bike when they are informed by a friend it is outside Panera Bread.
Vitellaro tells an officer about two minutes later, he saw a teenager straddle the bike, about to pedal away, when he exits his car, approaches, and grabs him by the wrist. Vitellaro says to the teen, “you stole my son’s bike.” He tells police the teen, identified only as J.N., fell from the bike before he restrains him using a technique called an “arm bar.”
Vitellaro says he released J.N. because he grew concerned as his friends began surrounding him.
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“I didn’t want to get kicked in the face,” Vitellaro tells an officer in the video. “[I] didn’t want to get attacked.”
Vitellaro, who is still a member of CPD, was relieved of his police powers in August 2022. He's been on a leave of absence since February 2023.
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A recommendation from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability remains under review, according to Chicago police.
The complete statement from the family's attorneys is below:
"Michael Vitellaro escaped criminal justice today. He also escaped a jury trial by exercising his right to a bench trial, knowing full well the odds of a favorable outcome were improved. However, he will not be able to escape our pursuit of justice in the civil courts, and we plan on mounting a vigorous prosecution to bring him to justice. The Judge today created a story that this child was somehow on the bike, despite no video evidence of that being true, to justify his not guilty ruling and exonerate this Chicago Police Officer.
We will keep the attention in this case squarely on the conduct of this officer. The video of this incident is clear; Vitellaro’s conduct shocked the community and decent people around the world. Vitellaro assaulted a fourteen-year-old boy in broad daylight without cause and his treatment of our client was a clear overreach, an overreaction and an excessive use of force. This child was unarmed and presented zero physical threat to the officer. There is no doubt our young client was innocent, and the trauma of this experience has indeed harmed him emotionally. We are quite disappointed that Judge Pavlus chose not to see Vitellaro’s conduct met the threshold for aggravated battery or official misconduct.
We applaud the Cook County States Attorney’s office for bringing the charges to seek criminal accountability and we believe strongly the community is also supportive of seeking justice in this case… from neighbors in Park Ridge to the members of Illinois Congressional delegation. With today’s conclusion of the criminal proceedings against Vitellaro, we will now seek full accountability in the civil courts and the filing of our complaint is imminent. The pursuit of justice for this family is not only about criminal justice, it is absolutely about social justice and ensuring young men and women of color and their communities can trust law enforcement officers who are sworn to protect all of them."
