The bodycam footage of the fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo has been released to the public.
Toledo was shot after officers pursued Toledo and another young male on foot. One of the officers opened fire, shooting Adam in the chest as his hands were in the air. Toledo was pronounced dead at the scene.
The video footage of the shooting, released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, shows CPD officer Eric Stillman shooting Toledo once in the chest around 2:30 a.m. on March 29 in an alley. Toledo was shot after he and 21-year-old Ruben Roman allegedly ran away from police, who responded to the area for a report of gunfire.
The teenager was a seventh-grader at Gary Elementary School in Little Village. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Roman was charged with resisting arrest. He was released from police custody a few hours later.
On Thursday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot rebuffed reports that Toledo fired a gun at police before an officer fatally shot him.
“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 said during a press conference.
She made a plea for the public to remain calm after viewing the video.
“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 said.
“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 said. “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.”
Adam’s family echoed the mayor’s statement, asking that the community “remain peaceful” to honor his memory.
“We acknowledge that the release of this video is the first step in the process toward the healing of the family, the community and our city,” the statement read in part. “We understand that the release of this video will be incredibly painful and elicit an emotional response to all who view it, and we ask that people express themselves peacefully.”
