CDP Officer Charged 7 Weeks After Video Showed Him Kneeling on Teen

A Chicago Police Department sergeant has been removed from duty and arrested on a felony battery charge following the incident.

CPD
Sergeant Michael Vitellaro turned himself over to police on Thursday in
Park Ridge, the department said in a news release. The suspended
sergeant also faces a charge of official misconduct.

Vitellaro’s
arrest followed a six week campaign by the parents of 14-year-old Josh
Nieves, as they fought to raise awareness of the incident through a
petition that garnered more than 1,500 signatures by Thursday afternoon
and regular updates to Facebook.

This
journalist also spoke about the incident on his weekly national
podcast, The Liberal Patriot, with Steven Mark Tobin, and has also been
to the exact same strip mall where the incident occurred.

The
Citizens Police Data Project, which tracks police misconduct in Chicago,
says that Sgt. Vitellaro has racked up four use of force complaints
filed against him—more than 63 percent of other officers—during his 22
years at CPD.

Liberal Patriot Podcast Episode on CPD Pinning Teen