Yahoo Finance Adam Toledo: Chicago police release bodycam footage of officer shooting boy, 13, who has hands in the air
Chicago Police have released bodycam footage of an officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy holding his arms up in the air.
In the shocking footage Adam Toledo, 13, appears to “toss” a handgun behind a fence and begin raising his hands less than a second before an officer fatally shoots him in the chest.
Nineteen seconds pass from when Officer Eric Stillman got out of his squad car to when he shot Toledo. His bodycam footage shows him chasing Toledo on foot down an alley for several seconds and yelling “Police! Stop! Stop right (expletive) now!”
A still frame taken from Stillman’s jumpy nighttime body camera footage appears to show Adam Toledo wasn’t holding anything and had his hands up when Stillman shot him once in the chest about 3am on March 29.
The release of the footage comes at a sensitive time, with the ongoing trial in Minneapolis of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd and the recent police killing of another Black man, Daunte Wright, in one of the city’s suburbs.
Police, who were responding to reports of shots fired in the area, say the boy had a handgun on him before the shooting. Stillman’s footage shows him shining a light on a handgun on the ground near Toledo after he shot him.
While approaching the wounded boy, Stillman radios in for an ambulance. He can be heard imploring Toledo to “stay awake,” and as other officers arrive, an officer says he can’t feel a heartbeat and begins administering CPR.
Adam’s mother described him as a “curious and goofy” boy who loved animals, riding his bike and junk food. The Toledo family issued a statement urging people to avoid violent protests.
“We pray that for the sake of our city, people remain peaceful to honor Adam’s memory and work constructively to promote reform,” the family said.
On aGoFundMe page, his mother Elizabeth wrote, “Ironically one of his dreams was to become a police officer.”
According to prosecutors, the teenager was with a 21-year-old man, Ruben Roman, who had just fired a gun at a passing car. The gunfire drew police to the area, resulting in the deadly confrontation.
In a lengthy email, Stillman’s attorney Tim Grace said Toledo left the officer no choice but to shoot.
But Adeena Weiss-Ortiz, an attorney for Toledo’s family, told reporters the footage and other videos “speak for themselves.”
Weiss-Ortiz said it’s irrelevant whether Toledo was holding a gun before he turned toward the officer.
“If he had a gun, he tossed it,” she said. “The officer said, ’Show me your hands.” He complied. He turned around.”
The release of the footage comes at a sensitive time, with the ongoing trial in Minneapolis of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd and the recent police killing of another Black man, Daunte Wright, in one of the city’s suburbs.
Before the video was released, shops in downtown Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile” boarded up their windows in anticipation of protests.
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