(Crankers) The Village of Oak Lawn has agreed to pay $825,000 to a Bridgeview man who was arrested as a teenager during a 2022 traffic stop.
YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY!!!
Hadi Abuatelah, now 21, was 17 when Oak Lawn officers pulled over a vehicle in July 2022 and claimed they smelled marijuana. Body camera footage shows Abuatelah running from the stop before officers caught him in the street. Video from the arrest captured officers striking him repeatedly and deploying a taser, injuries that sent him to the hospital.
Prosecutors later alleged one officer punched the teen more than 10 times, though charges against that officer were ultimately dropped by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Abuatelah, meanwhile, pleaded guilty in juvenile court to unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the incident.
He later filed a $2 million civil lawsuit against the village and its police department. On Tuesday, the Oak Lawn Village Board voted to settle the case for $825,000. Officials said the move was driven largely by pressure from the village’s insurance carrier, which will cover all but $250,000 of the payout.
Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer, a former police officer himself, said the board did not believe the settlement reflected wrongdoing by the department, but that current political scrutiny of law enforcement played a role in the decision.
“This settlement puts the entire matter behind us and finds no fault in the actions of our fine police department,” Vorderer said.
Sounds like he’s standing up for criminals instead of the cops.