Protesters took to the streets this weekend — both in Little Village and other parts of the city — after the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released videos of the fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo. We speak with neighborhood organizations working to help residents.
Adam Toledo
Several hundred people gathered Sunday evening in Little Village to mourn the death of Adam Toledo and participate in a peace walk through the neighborhood. The 13-year-old was fatally shot by a police officer on March 29.
As the country awaits an outcome in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, the manner in which police operate in Black and Latino communities – in particular, how they use deadly force — remains very much in the spotlight.
For the past two weeks, Chicago residents have been reacting to the death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo at the hands of a Chicago police officer. Now, video footage of the shooting is raising more questions about the incident. We discuss the March 29 shooting with Little Village community members.
After a police officer chased a 13-year-old boy into an alley and shot him to death, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot demanded a new policy that would protect officers, suspects and bystanders in what she called one of the most dangerous actions an officer can take: a foot pursuit.
The image that many Americans have of 13-year-old Adam Toledo is frozen in time: He is standing in an alley with his hands up as the gunshot that killed him is heard.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood Friday evening to protest the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo last month. Toledo was fatally shot by a police officer in the Little Village neighborhood, about 6 miles south of the protest.
Feelings about Adam Toledo’s killing are particularly raw in Little Village, where Toledo’s family lives. We spent the day talking with residents and local leaders about their community, and the fatal shooting of the 13-year-old who called it home.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability delivered on its promise to publicly release video of the fatal police shooting of Adam Toledo within 60 days, but the agency’s work has just begun. What’s next for the investigation.
Police and city officials have been preparing for anticipated demonstrations following the release of videos showing the police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, as well as a verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged in the death of George Floyd.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot pleaded for calm Thursday, hours before city officials released body camera footage showing the police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Little Village. Lightfoot said Toledo did not shoot at police, but she declined to discuss the details of what the videos show in advance of their release.
Police body camera footage released Thursday shows 13-year-old Adam Toledo turn toward a Chicago police officer and put his hands in the air an instant before the officer shoots him. Toledo, a seventh-grader who attended Gary Elementary, died at the scene.
The footage will be released more than two weeks after 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot in the chest and killed by a Chicago police officer in an alley in the Little Village neighborhood, and two days after the boy’s family reviewed the video.
In anticipation of potential outcry over the video of Adam Toledo’s shooting, and in the wake of the Daunte Wright shooting, police have taken precautions “to maintain the safety of our city and its residents,” like canceling scheduled days off for detectives and members of strategic policing teams.
The family of Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old shot and killed by a Chicago police officer last month, viewed body camera footage of the shooting Tuesday evening. But those materials will not be “immediately” released publicly.
The Little Village Community Council wants to meet with Mayor Lori Lightfoot about policing policy changes. They also want to meet with the police department about the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.