Protests Planned in Chicago Following Release of Toledo Shooting Video


Mayor Lori Lightfoot and city leaders said Thursday they’re prepared to handle protests following the release of videos showing the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a Chicago police officer on March 29.

Police and city officials have for days been preparing for anticipated demonstrations following the release of the police body camera videos, as well as a verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged in the death of George Floyd.

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In Millennium Park, a group of protesters had already been planning to demonstrate Thursday evening against the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota.

Organizer Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef of the Chicago Activist Coalition For Justice says he wants to see charges against the officer who shot Toledo, irrespective of whether Toledo had a gun.

“I think the (Toledo family) attorney made it clear she wants some forensics done on that part of it. But still, the young man complied. When the officer said, ‘Put your hands up,’ he showed himself surrendering to authority. That to me is the part of the situation that must be emphasized,” Ben Yosef said. “He complied with authority and still … he was murdered.”

After gathering for a little more than an hour in Millennium Park, protesters set off on foot, marching north on Michigan Avenue toward the Chicago River. Later Thursday night, social media posts say a gathering was planned for Union Park on the Near West Side. And a larger-scale gathering is planned for 5:30 p.m. Friday at Logan Square Park.


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