A group of prominent ministers and activists wants Mayor Lori Lightfoot to state publicly her opposition to the rehiring of fired Chicago Police Officer Robert Rialmo, who is waging a legal fight to get his job back.
The group, which includes West and South side minsters the Rev. Dr. Marshall Hatch and the Rev. Michael Pfleger, plan to deliver a letter to Lightfoot’s City Hall office Tuesday morning.
“We do not have to remind you of the mood of our nation and world in this season of moral outrage in the filmed police murder of George Floyd,” the letter reads. “We cannot fight for justice and radical police reform in Minneapolis without fighting for the same in Chicago, a city we love but a city that has also been an epicenter of police abuse against citizens of color. Our request is that you send another strong signal. We strongly urge that you respond to this letter by publicly stating that Robert Rialmo be banned from any city employment.”
Rialmo filed a lawsuit in November to try to get his job back. His attorneys have argued the Chicago Police Board’s decision to terminate him was “contrary to law and sound public opinion” and was “arbitrary, capricious and unrelated to the requirements of service.”
The lawsuit is asking for a Cook County judge to reverse the board’s decision and reinstate Rialmo with back pay.
The board — the body that metes out discipline for police officers — voted unanimously in October to terminate Rialmo for his role in the fatal shooting of Bettie Jones, 55, in the 4700 block of West Erie Street in December 2015. Rialmo also shot and killed 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier, who was in the midst of a mental health episode and charged at Rialmo with an aluminum baseball bat. The charges brought against Rialmo by then-Supt. Eddie Johnson did not relate to the killing of LeGrier, only Jones.