Oak Lawn to pay $825,000 settlement to man punched by police officer while pinned down in 2022
The Village of Oak Lawn has agreed to pay $825,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a man who was repeatedly punched by an Oak Lawn police officer as he was pinned to the ground while he was a teenager in 2022.
On Tuesday, the village board voted to approve the $825,000 settlement of 21-year-old Hadi Abuatelah's lawsuit. In a statement, the village said it agreed to settle the case "not because of the merits of the case, but because the Village's insurance carrier was pushing for the settlement."
The village will pay $250,000 of the settlement, with its insurance carrier paying the rest.
"Although no member of the Board wanted to settle, the reality is that we're operating in a climate where certain elected officials are openly criticizing law enforcement and pursuing criminal charges against our officers. Given that environment, we had to consider the broader consequences and act accordingly," Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer, a police officer, said in a statement. "This settlement puts the entire matter behind us and finds no fault in the actions of our fine police department."
Abuatelah's attorneys said they hope the settlement sends a message to Oak Lawn Police to be "more mindful going forward of their responsibility of reasonable conduct when engaging with all members of the community."
"The video evidence is crystal clear — Hadi was beaten by a gaggle of uniformed police officers. Three white officers using closed fist blows to the head to this Palestinian-American teenager was wholly unreasonable and should never have been used when other tactics were readily available," attorneys Antonio Romanucci and Zaid Abdallah said in a statement. "This young man is only five-foot-four inches and 120 pounds while one of the officers alone was six-foot-four. This egregious behavior was unreasonable and over-the-top."
Abuatelah was 17 when he was arrested in Oak Lawn in the summer of 2022. He was in the passenger seat of a friend's car when they were pulled over after police said officers smelled burning marijuana.
As an officer was searching the vehicle, Abuatelah ran off, and officers tackled him. Officer Patrick O'Donnell began punching him as he was pinned down. Prosecutors said he punched Abuatelah more than 10 times in the head and face.
Dashboard camera video footage showed police holding Abuatelah down as O'Donnell punched him repeatedly.
Police have said Abuatelah was carrying a crossbody bag at the time, and reached for a gun when he was pinned to the ground. A loaded .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol with three live rounds of ammunition was recovered from the bag.
Oak Lawn Police Chief Daniel Vittorio has defended the officers' actions, saying they feared Abuatelah was reaching for a weapon, and that he didn't stop resisting until they used a stun gun on him.
Abuatelah was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was treated for bleeding in his brain, a broken pelvis, broken nose, lacerations, internal bleeding, and other injuries as a result of the beating.
After the beating and arrest, Abuatelah was charged as a juvenile with unlawful use of a weapon, resisting arrest, and possession of cannabis. He later pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon.
Months later, O'Donnell was charged with two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of official misconduct. Prosecutors dropped all charges against O'Donnell on the eve of his trial.