_edited.png)
In the early morning of the 29th of March, Adam Toledo, aged just thirteen years old, was shot dead by a Chicago police officer during a foot chase.
Following the shooting, the authorities initially declared that Toledo had a gun in his hand as he turned towards officers during the pursuit, which occurred despite commands to cease running. However, body camera video footage released on the fifteenth of April appears to show the police officer fatally shooting Toledo, even as he raised his hands in the air in a plea of mercy. In graphic body camera footage, Toledo is chased down a dark alley by an officer, who orders him to stop, to show his hands and "drop it" - in reference to a weapon Toledo was apparently holding.
Some outlets, such as The New York Times have since analysed the footage, and have claim that the boy appears to toss a handgun over the fence before raising his hands. Others argue that there is no evidence of a weapon in the footage at all.
The boy is then shot in the chest by an officer from a short distance away. The officer has since been identified as Eric Stillman, 34, who has been employed by the police force for nearly six years. He has since been placed on 30-day administrative leave.
Information on the shooting was not made public until days after it happened - this includes Toledo’s age. Elizabeth Toledo, the boy's mother, was not notified about his death until two days after the shooting. She had believed that her son was missing, yet whether or not she had contacted the authorities is unknown. In a statement following the shooting, his mother described Toledo as having a "big imagination". He loved animals, riding his bike, and had a fascination with zombies. She recalls being asked for a photo of Toledo by the police in early April - two days after the shooting - however assumed it was for his missing person's report.
Thirty minutes later, the police knocked on her door. They asked her to go to the medical examiner’s officer: she was needed to identify her thirteen-year-old son’s body.
At the time of the shooting, Toldeo was with Ruben Roman, 21, who has since been charged with several felonies connected to that night (including child endangerment and reckless discharge of a firearm).
The Toledo family initially asked that the recordings not be made public immediately.
Since the footage has been released, protests have occurred across the city, calling for transparency and accountability. Many are angered by the string of police-involved shootings that have killed young “Chicagoans” of colour in recent weeks.
In addition to Toldeo’s death, Anothony Alvarez, 22, and Traven Chadwell, 18, were killed by a Chicago police officer in March. For many, Toledo's death reflects the reality that "Latinos are more likely than whites to experience police-related shootings and violence", as CNN reports. Last year, Andres Guardado, 18, died after being shot five times in the back by a police officer in California; Carlos Ingram Lopez, 27, died in police custody in Tucson; and in the San Francisco Bay area, two, young, Latino men were killed by law enforcement, just days apart. The most recent police-involved shootings coincided with the then-ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin, convicted this week of murdering 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis last May. Beyond this, there have been renewed protests over the death of Daunte Wright, 20, killed when an officer allegedly mistook her gun for a taser during a traffic stop.
Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, has stood alongside Latino community leaders and urged for composure and civility. In a press conference addressing the fatal shooting, Mayor Lightfoot described the footage as "incredibly difficult to watch, particularly at the end". Lightfoot stated: ‘We’ve failed Adam.’ Whilst the mayor has avoided discussing the previous reports about Toldeo holding a gun, she did confirm that there was "no evidence whatsoever that Adam Toldeo shot at the police".
As more protests were planned following the release of the footage, Lightfoot and Toldeo’s grieving family have continuingly asked for peace: “We understand that the release of this video will be incredibly painful and elicit an emotional response to all who view it, and we ask that people express themselves peacefully," read a joint statement made by Lightfoot and the family’s lawyers.
Still, violent clashes erupted in Minneapolis, Washington DC, Chicago, and New York. In Chicago, thousands of people marched in Toledo's name. The protests began before 6pm, with hundreds gathering in Logan Square Park, many planning to march to Mayor Lightfoot’s residence. However, the number of marchers increased rapidly into the thousands as the night progressed. An intersection, according to ABC7, was shut to accommodate the protest. Hundreds took the streets on Thursday night, blocking traffic and protesting outside of the city’s police headquarters, and inevitably several skirmishes occurred between protesters and police - with dozens arrested and several injured.
Comments