Culture & Society

Chicago braces for chaos, Lori Lightfoot infuriates the left as video of 13-yr-old shot by police sparks mixed reactions

April 16, 2021 | | Print Article

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged calm on Thursday as a video was released of police shooting a 13-year-old boy named Adam Toledo after he appeared to drop a gun and raise his hands.

Lightfoot claimed that she saw “no evidence whatsoever” that Toledo fired a gun at officers. The Democrat mayor and the boy’s family jointly called for Chicagoans to “express themselves peacefully” following the “incredibly painful” video release. She proceeded to call for more gun control as well as reviewing the Chicago Police Department’s policy on foot pursuits.

The altercation occurred at night on March 29 in a Little Village alley. After stopping another suspect, Officer Stillman pursued Toledo down the ally after he fled from the police. “Police, stop. Stop right f***ing now,” he yelled as the boy stopped running by a fence that borders a parking lot.

Stillman shouted at Toledo, “Hey show me your f***ing hands, drop it, drop it,” and then fired one shot as Toledo reportedly tossed the gun, turned, and put his hands up. In the video, as Toledo raised his hands they appeared empty. Officers tried to save the boy’s life but were unsuccessful. At the end of the video, an officer shines a flashlight on what appears to be the gun that Toledo dropped.

(Video Credit: AP)

Lightfoot would not address if Toledo was holding a gun before he was shot but she did reference the body camera footage that was released.

“Look, I don’t want to get into the real substance of this because the independent investigation is going on, but I’ve seen no evidence whatsoever that Adam Toledo shot at the police,” Lightfoot defensively said during her press conference.

She once again acknowledged that she had viewed the video and said that it was “incredibly difficult to watch,” but would not discuss the specifics of the shooting.

WARNING: Graphic Footage

(Video Credit: Chicago Sun-Times)

Lightfoot mentioned that the officers did try and save Toledo’s life following the shooting: “When you see, and I urge you to watch it, watch all the footage, you’re going to see that officer sprang into action to try to revive,” Lightfoot stated.

She was emotional and also referred to the video as “excruciating.”

“We can’t have that be what young people experience in our city,” Lightfoot said at the news conference.. “Simply put, we failed Adam.”

“There are several videos that kind of start at the beginning of the episode but watching the bodycam footage, which shows young Adam after he is shot is extremely difficult,” she remarked. “And I would just say, I’ve said this to a number of people my, my staff or cabinet. As a mom, this is not something you want children to see.”

Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability has announced it will release body-camera footage, third-party video, OEMC transmissions, recordings, and several reports.

Lightfoot is refusing to offer her “own commentary” on the case.

“Look, this is a difficult circumstance, set of circumstances. First and foremost, we have a family that is still incredibly in the throes of grief, a mom and father who have lost their son, siblings that have lost her brother, grandparents,” Lightfoot deflected. “So I want to be respectful of the family, but I also do think that something like a police-involved shooting, particularly under these circumstances, it’s important for us to be transparent.”

The officers have been placed on administrative duties for 30 days as is standard police department policy.

Attorney Adeena Weiss Ortiz said in a statement that even if the boy had a gun, he complied with orders from the police. “If he had a gun, he tossed it. … The officer said, ‘show me your hands,’ (and Toledo) complied,” she stated. “(The officer) is trained to not shoot somebody unarmed. He is trained to look, he is trained not to panic.”

Stillman’s attorney, Tim Grace, said it was evident that Toledo was armed and that the officer had no choice but to use deadly force. “The officer had no place to take cover or concealment, the gun was being (orientated) in his direction and he was left with no other option,” Grace declared in a statement.

At a bond hearing on Saturday for the suspect who was stopped by police with Adam Toledo, prosecutors stated that Toledo had a gun in his hand when he was shot and killed.

Prosecutors said that while the defendant, Ruben Roman, was the one who fired the weapon, Adam had it in his hand when he was shot and killed by police as Roman was being detained.

Chicagoans are enraged over the shooting and they are not happy with Lightfoot’s response to the tragedy. The Chicago Police Department has canceled days off for its officers as they prepare for unrest over the shooting. According to the Chicago Tribune, “Sources said several specialized Chicago police units were preparing this week for possible major protests or disturbances.”

Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson tweeted: “In fairness, as we’ve learned with many videos, there are different interpretations. In this case, even with video, there are differing accounts as to when Adam dropped his gun. And since it didn’t happen in slow motion in real life, even harder to tell. More to come.”

There was outrage and mixed reaction to Lightfoot’s response and the video release on social media:

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