CBS NEWS: Charges dropped against Oak Lawn, Illinois police officer accused of excessive force in teen's arrest

SEE: CAIR-Chicago to Address Police Brutality of 17-Year-Old Bridgeview Teen

CHICAGO (CBS) -- All charges were dropped Wednesday against an Oak Lawn police officer accused of using excessive force in the beating of a 17-year-old Palestinian American boy after a 2022 traffic stop.

Patrick O'Donnell, 32, had been charged with two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of official misconduct for his role in the violent arrest of Hadi Abuatelah.

One day before a bench trial was set to begin on Thursday, Cook County prosecutors dropped all charges against O'Donnell, according to court records…

…The violent arrest sparked outrage in the Oak Lawn community. Abuatelah's supporters protested outside the police department, and demanded the charges against him be dropped.

Abuatelah's supporters have said, even if he deserved to be arrested that day, the officer's use of force was not necessary.

"Let's assume for a moment that this person had to be arrested legally. This is not the way to do it," Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said after Abuatelah's arrest, "and in no civilization, no time, and no place on earth is this kind of behavior acceptable."