Prosecutors move forward with weapons charges against teen beaten by Oak Lawn police during arrest
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County prosecutors are moving forward with weapons charges against the teen at the center of a violent and controversial arrest last month in Oak Lawn.
Police officers repeatedly punched 17-year-old Hadi Abuatelah while he was pinned to the ground during an arrest on July 27. Oak Lawn police have said the officers were convinced he was reaching for a gun.
After spending four days in the hospital, Abuatelah was charged as a juvenile with one count of felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest, and also with two counts of misdemeanor resisting arrest and possession of cannabis by a passenger in a motor vehicle.
At his first Juvenile Court appearance last month, Cook County prosecutors said they hadn't decided if they would move forward with the charges against him. On Thursday, prosecutors told the judge they had found probable cause to charge him with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, according to a spokeswoman for the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk's office.
Abuatelah was arraigned on the charges Thursday and is due back in Juvenile Court on Sept. 22. The judge in his case also set a 10 p.m. curfew for Abuatelah.
Muhammad Sankarai, lead organizer with the Arab American Action Network, declined to comment on prosecutors' decision to proceed with weapons charges against the teen, but said Abuatelah's supporters want Cook County prosecutors to charge the officers who beat the teen.
"The crime that everybody witnessed is the crime of Hadi being brutally assaulted by three grown men. That's the crime that we want to talk about; the crime that those officers beat this young man, almost to death, and the very next day are out patrolling the streets again. And that's not right," Sankari said. "We want to see them held to account for it."
Abuatelah's arrest on July 27 was caught on cell phone video, as Oak Lawn police officers repeatedly punched the teen while he was pinned to the ground.
It happened after a traffic stop, when Abuatelah ran away from police before they caught up to him and tackled him to the ground.
Abuatelah's family has said they still don't know what prompted that stop.
Meanwhile, Oak Lawn Police last month released dashcam video which shows the teen running. They claim he was reaching for something in a bag as officers tried to arrest him, adding that they found a loaded gun inside that bag.
Abuatelah's family has now filed a federal civil suit, accusing Oak Lawn Police of using excessive force.
The lawsuit claims three unnamed Oak Lawn police officers of "extreme and outrageous conduct," by repeatedly punching Abuatelah in the body, head, and face, after he'd already been tackled and pinned to the ground.
Abuatelah was hospitalized with internal bleeding in his brain, a fractured pelvis, broken nose, lacerations, and bruises after the violent arrest, according to the lawsuit. He is now recovering at home.
