The family of Josh Nieves, the 14-year-old boy pinned to the ground by an off-duty cop for moving a bike, is suing the city of Chicago and the police officer, Michael A. Vitellaro.
On July 1, 2022, Vitellaro pinned down Nieves, putting his knee on the small of his back, outside of a Chicago Starbucks after Vitellaro suspected Nieves of stealing Vitellaro’s son’s bike. Vitellaro was charged with official misconduct and aggravated battery but was found not guilty earlier this month.
Now Nieves’ family is suing. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, states that Nieves was talking to his friends outside a Starbucks on his bike. When he wanted to rest his bike, against a pillar, he repositioned Vitellaro’s son’s bike, which was allegedly stolen and taken to Starbucks by someone else, and that’s when Vitellaro accused him of stealing his son’s bike and applied “pressure with his right hand to [Nieves’s] left shoulder, in what can only be described as a clear display of excessive and unjustified use of force against a minor.”
Angel Nieves, Josh Nieves’ father, in a news release, said, “The misuse of force, irrational behavior, and unprovoked actions of this Chicago police sergeant cannot go unchecked, so we will continue to fight for our son and, in doing so, hope to advocate for others who feel voiceless in their pursuit of justice.”
Earlier this month, Josh Nieves told the court: “I was shocked. I thought I was going to lose my life.”
During his testimony, the teen said he had nothing to do with the theft of Vitellaro’s son’s bike. The Nieves family said they believe Vitellaro’s attack on the youth was “racially motivated.” According to the lawsuit, Josh Nieves “sustained injuries of a personal and pecuniary nature, including serious emotional injury, as a result of said confinement,” and he “reasonably feared that he would sustain significant physical injury” and that he suffered “severe emotional distress, including anxiety, fear, anger, embarrassment, and humiliation.”
The city of Chicago did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Vitellaro’s conduct shocked both the community of Park Ridge, as well as decent people around the world,” said Nieves’ attorney Javier Rodriguez, Jr. “This conduct cannot be tolerated, and both Vitellaro and the City of Chicago will be held accountable for their actions. We look forward to questioning Sergeant Vitellaro on the stand and holding him to account before a twelve-person jury of his peers, and, further, allowing a jury to decide for themselves what justice and accountability look like.”