Adam Toledo Video: Chicago police release police shooting video of 13-year-old
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Chicago's police oversight agency on Thursday released bodycam and third-party video of police fatally shooting 13-year-old Adam Toledo last month in Little Village.
The videos show an officer shoot Toledo on March 29 in an alley behind Farragut Career Academy High School on the Southwest Side.
PDF: Original Case Report for Adam Toledo shooting (redacted)
Police had said they found a gun at the scene of the shooting and that it was the weapon Toledo was holding, but the main bodycam video shows him without a gun in his hand the moment he was shot. Toledo's hands were empty as he raised them moments before being killed.
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However, and according to Chicago police, the video also appears to show Toledo for a brief moment standing by a large gap in a wooden fence with his side to the officer and what appears to be a gun behind his back, before tossing the weapon away. He then turns around, raises his arms and is shot.
In a police incident report released Thursday, the officer who fired the gun was identified as 34-year-old Officer Eric Stillman of the 10th District. The officer was hired to CPD in August of 2015. He's been placed on desk duty for 30 days while COPA investigates the shooting, police said.
The incident report also said Toledo was listed as a "John Doe" between 18 and 25 years old. He was removed from the scene about 5 a.m. to the medical examiner’s office, the report states.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability has been pressured by community activists, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and others to release the footage since authorities identified him four days after his death.
The Toledo family was allowed to view the video along with other materials related to the shooting Tuesday before it was released publicly.
Lightfoot on Thursday said she had viewed the police body camera videos of the fatal police shooting of Toledo, calling them "excruciating" to watch. She urged the public to remain peaceful following the videos release.
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"I want to be respectful of family, but I do also think a police-involved shooting, particularly under these circumstances, it’s important for us to be transparent," the mayor said.
"Me as a mom, it wasn’t easy to watch this video. I cried. We had a moment of silence at my home," an unidentified Chicago woman said.
It was an emotional afternoon in Little Village once community members were able to see the videos of Toledo’s death.
"When I seen that video today, something inside of me died. Couldn’t bear to watch it. I felt like my childhood died, memories wiped from my head," said Kristian Armendariz of the Little Village Community Council.
For days, some in the community were strong in their conviction that the 13-year-old was not armed and they say the videos confirm that.
"They shoot first and ask questions later and we clearly saw it today that that’s how it was. This officer murdered one of our child," said Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council.
The Little Village Community Council, which is the group that has been calling for the release of the videos for two weeks, is now making other demands. They want Mayor Lighfoot to resign, the Department of Justice to investigate and for the millions of dollar that go to the Chicago Police Department to be used in neighborhoods instead.
Prosecutors on Saturday released new details about the night that Toledo was killed, saying he had a gun and gunshot residue on his hand.
Ruben Roman, 21, who was with Toledo that night in Little Village, gave officers a false name for the boy. Roman is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and felony endangerment of a child.
In a charging document released Saturday, prosecutors said that on March 29 at about 2:30 a.m., police chased both Roman and Toledo and stopped Roman first.
Police said they yelled at Toledo to stop running and show his hands. They said he stopped with his left side towards the officer, and his right hand at his right side. Prosecutors said that the officer told him to drop the gun and that he did not. The officer fired one shot and hit him in the chest.
The officer called for an ambulance and began chest compressions, prosecutors said. Toledo was pronounced dead at the scene.
Prosecutors said Toledo's hand tested positive for gunshot residue and that a Ruger 9MM was found next to where he died.
Toledo's mom, Elizabeth Toledo, said in a phone interview with the Chicago Sun-Times her son had ambitions to become a police officer.
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"He wanted to be a cop when he grew up," she said. "And next thing you know, a cop took his life."
Family held a private funeral for Toledo on Friday. They have also called for peace after reports of possible protests and gang retaliation.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.