The father of a 14-year-old boy who was fatally shot by Chicago Police officers last July 4 in the Portage Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side has filed a federal lawsuit against the city.
Pedro Rios filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, alleging excessive force and wrongful death in connection with the death of his son, Pedro Rios Jr., on July 4, 2014, a Friday night.
Authorities said at the time that the boy was shot about 9:55 p.m. after he turned and pointed a large revolver at Chicago Police officers near Berenice and Cicero.
Rios Jr., of the 7400 block of North Ashland, was pronounced dead at the scene less than 30 minutes later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Rios Jr. had been seen “holding something under his arm, looking suspicious” and ran when officers approached him, according to Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden said.
A .44 Magnum with an 8-inch barrel was recovered at the scene, Camden said.
“That’s a huge gun,” Camden said. “Like a ‘Dirty Harry’ gun.”
But the lawsuit alleges the boy did not pose a threat of harm to the officers or any other person in the area when the officers shot him multiple times in the back.
The officers’ misconduct was willingly undertaken with “malice” and “reckless indifference” to Rios Jr.’s rights, the suit claims.
The two-count lawsuit is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages.
The city has not yet been served with the suit, said city Department of Law spokesman John Holden, who declined to comment on it Friday evening.
The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting, spokesman Larry Merritt said at the time. The agency has not released a report on the shooting.
