Downtown Chicago is bracing for unrest after April 15. 13-year-old Adam Toledo shows him with his hands until an officer of the Chicago Police (CPD) shot him on March 29 fatally.
The images of the officer shot at Adam’s body have been released by the Civilian Police Accountability Office (COPA). It is an organization that investigates allegations of police misconduct.
According to CPD, the shooting took place at 2300 blocks of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on 29 March.
The officer allegedly responded to calls from the people concerned, who heard several shots. Calls correspond to shots taken in the city by a shotspotter device, which detects a set of sensitive microphones if weapons go off.
The photograph reveals that the officer follows Adam in a dark alley while the officer shouts. “No, stop right now,” at Adam after switching on a torchlight. Then the officer shouts, “Show me your f—drop your hands.”
Then Adam stops and lifts his hands. Which looks empty until the officer shoots him in his chest. The officer calls for an ambulance and starts to provide assistance.
“We recognize that the release of the video is the first step towards healing the family, the community, and our city”. said Lori Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago, in an April 15 press release. “We ask people to speak peacefully.”
Before the publication of the video, Lightfoot said she did not want to know the incident details. The COPA investigation is underway but noted that Adam did not appear fired at the officers.
“I saw no signs of Adam Toledo shooting at the officers”. Said Lightfoot at an April 15 press conference.
WGN claimed that Adam had a weapon in his right hand when he turned and faced the officer.
At the bail hearing of a 21-year-old Ruben Roman suspected to have been with Adam during the shooting. A state prosecutor’s lawyer said that Adam had a pistol in his right hand, when he turned around. Then he confronted the cop.
A Cook County State Attorney spokesman Kim Foxx said that the attorney “. Failed to completely prepare himself until he spoke before the judge.”
Illinois’ ACLU called for a “full and clear” investigation into Adam’s death after the video was released.
“The Chicago citizens are deserving of responses to the events surrounding this horrific interaction,” said Colleen Connell, ACLU Illinois’ Executive Director in a statement. “These responses must provide comprehensive public transparency and monitoring and not careful claims made by the police and prosecutors.”
A lawyer from Toledo thanked the Latino group and Latino leaders during a press conference on 15 April for their nonviolent protests in the days after Adam’s death.
“We do not want this disaster to be compounded by inflaming tensions or instigating abuse,” said Adeena Weiss Ortiz. “It is particularly important to maintain peace.”
The video comes after several days of protests in Brooklyn Center, Minn. following the murder, in the Associated Press, of a 20 year-old unarmed Black man, a white policeman, Daunte Wright.
Chicago’s Emergency and Communications Office (OEMC) said in a tweeting hour after the video was posted, the City “allocates public safety resources” around the neighbourhoods.
Lightfoot said that in view of the ongoing Derek Chauvin trial, the officer who murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis last May, the city has been engaging with businesses in protest. Lightfoot said the announcement of the videos of Adam’s death coincided with those plans.
“We want to prepare people for the release of these videos but also to remind people that we are prepared and ready if anything happens,” Lightfoot said at a press conference in front of the release of the film.
According to University Speaker Anna Shymanski Zach, Loyola’s Campus Safety “monitors the situation carefully.” Campus Safety did not answer questions immediately about concrete safety steps.
The protesters went to the streets of Chicago last summer to protest after the death of Floyd. After the protests, the Chicago legislators vowed to overhaul the police. Lightfoot has reported that it plans to collaborate with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on the establishment of a licensing system for police officers, although the law is still outstanding.
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