Kim Foxx Wants Probe Of Oak Lawn Cops After Beating Video of Teen

OAK LAWN, IL — The Cook County State’s Attorney is calling for an independent investigation by the Illinois State Police into the arrest of an Arab American teen that was captured on a citizen’s video last week showing Oak Lawn police punching the prone teen, who police said was later found to be armed. The video has drawn outrage from the Arab American community.

Oak Lawn police have maintained that 17-year-old Hadi Abuadaleh was resisting arrest and disobeying commands when police apprehended Abuadaleh after the teen fled a traffic stop on July 27. A loaded gun was found in Abuadaleh’s accessory bag, police said.

The video taken by a passing motorist quickly went viral on social media, showing two officers repeatedly punching Abuadaleh’s buttocks, head and neck. A third officer joined them and tased the teen, who can be heard screaming in the video.

Abuadaleh suffered sustained internal bleeding to the head, a broken nose, and other bodily injuries. The teen remains hospitalized at Advocate Christ Medical Center under police guard.

The Oak Lawn Board of Trustees issued a statement over the weekend saying they strongly supported the police department and commended the “officers’ decision to use less-than-lethal force to detain the armed offender.”

“This recent incident is yet another tragic example of what is happening in our society when it comes to law and order and public safety, and comes only weeks after another young man with a gun killed seven people at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade.”

Oak Lawn police also released their own redacted dashboard camera video of the teen’s takedown, shown from a different angle. Officers in Oak Lawn do not wear body cameras, according to police officials. At the end of the police dash cam video, the audio stops.

In a news conference on Thursday, Chief Dan Vittorio pointed out that officers’ blows were to “pressure points” around the ears in an attempt to make the teen stop resisting. Vittorio said charges are pending against the teen.

The Oak Lawn Police Department and the village administration have pledged their full cooperation with the Illinois State Police investigation. Village officials said they will have no further comments until the state police investigation is complete.

“[As] a society, the bigger-picture problem needs to become the primary part of the conversation, and that is respect for law enforcement and compliance with their lawful orders are the only ways we are going to put an end to these types of incidents.”

Over 200 protesters from the area’s Arab American community gathered in front of village hall last week, calling for an and to racial profiling and criminalization of Arab Americans by Oak Lawn police.