Chicago police crackdown on protests over police murder of 13-year-old Adam Toledo
On Friday night, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Logan Square Park on Chicago’s Northwest Side to protest the killing of Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot by Chicago cop Eric Stillman in the working class neighborhood of Little Village on the city’s Southwest Side early in the morning on March 29.
Demonstrators marched en route to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s residence in the Logan Square neighborhood, which swelled to thousands. Police barricades set up near the mayor’s home prevented the crowd from getting close and police made preparations to suppress demonstrations throughout the weekend and coming days.
By Lauren Vella - 04/17/21 08:55 PM EDT
A Chicago prosecutor was placed on leave Saturday after he claimed in a court hearing this month that Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old boy fatally shot by police, had a gun in his possession.
In an April bond hearing for 21-year-old Ruben Roman, a man who was with Toledo on the night that he died, Assistant State’s Atty. James Murphy appeared to claim that the boy had a gun on him.
Following news of the comment, a spokesperson for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said Thursday that the prosecutor did not fully inform himself before testifying.
Editor s Note: This report states that footage captured from Chicago Police Officer Eric Stillman s encounter with Adam Toledo took place the night of March 29th. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of March 29th. NewsHour regrets the error.
Questions over the fatal shooting and the role of the police in the death of a teen are front and center in Chicago. There, the mayor, city officials and community leaders are taking stock of how police respond with force, and whether more changes are needed. Stephanie Sy speaks to Hans Menos, the Vice President of Law Enforcement Initiatives for the Center for Policing Equity, for this report.
Image from: ABC Chicago 7 Screenshot
On Thursday, after weeks of protests and calls for answers and action, the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) released footage of the shooting death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo. Toledo was shot and killed by a Chicago Police officer on March 29, 2021, in the predominantly Latino community of Little Village. The video is graphic, and disturbing, and Adam Toledo is clearly a child. He runs from the police officer, who chases him down an alley with a chain-linked fence along the right side. Toledo stops at the fence, slightly turned away from the officer. The officer screams at him to turn around and Toledo turns around, his hands bare and both up in the air at his shoulders and he is shot. Once in the chest.