Vigil held for Quintonio LeGrier, who was killed in controversial Chicago Police shooting
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Eight years after the death of Quintonio LeGrier in a controversial police shooting, a vigil was held in his honor Tuesday night.
LeGrier, 19, was shot and killed by Chicago Police Officer Robert Rialmo during a domestic disturbance call in the West Garfield Park neighborhood apartment building where he lived.
Police said LeGrier came at them with a baseball bat when they arrived at the building.
LeGrier had himself called 911 three times before police arrived.
"He was a teen that did the right thing. He called for help – not once, not twice, but three times," LeGrier's mother, Janet Cooksey, said at the vigil Tuesday. "He did the right thing, and it hasn't gotten easier."
Rialmo fired eight shots, six of them hitting LeGrier, who died. A bullet from Rialmo's gun also struck and killed 55-year-old Bettie Jones, LeGrier's downstairs neighbor, who was standing behind the teenager.
In December 2017, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability recommended Rialmo be fired, asserting investigators they found no evidence to support Rialmo's claim the shooting was necessary.
In November 2018, then-Police Supt. Eddie Johnson recommended Rialmo be fired, eight months after calling the shooting justified. The superintendent accused Rialmo of violating five department rules: conduct impeding the department's efforts to achieve its policy, and bringing discredit on the department; disobeying an order or directive; inattention to duty; incompetency; and unlawful or unnecessary use of a weapon.
On Oct. 17, 2019, the Police Board agreed, and Rialmo was fired.
The city also paid out a $1.6 million settlement to Jones' family, but a judge reversed a $1 million judgment for LeGrier's family.
