US Police killing of 13 year old Adam Toledo

Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability released on Thursday body-cam video showing an officer shooting and killing 13-year-old Adam Toledo. We have embedded this vantage point above. Footage begins without audio, but this audio turns on at about the 1:58-mark, seconds before the fatal shooting.

As previously reported, an officer shot and killed Toledo early March 29. Police said they had been responding to a report of gunfire. Officers said they saw “two subjects in a nearby alley.” Cops said at the time that they recovered a gun from the scene.

As seen on video, the officer who opened fire drove to the scene, and hurried out of the vehicle. He ran past what seemed to be a bystander, and continued down the alleyway. He turned on the audio.

“Stop!” he said. “Stop right ****ing now.”

It’s at this moment that Toledo appeared to have his back to the officer.

“Hey, show me your ****ing hands!” said the officer.

Toledo turned. His hands were pointed up.

“Drop it!” said the officer. “Drop it!” He opened fire.

Law&Crime does not see a gun in Toledo’s hands at 2:05, the second the shooting occurred. After the shooting, police referred to this as an “armed confrontation” and said that a gun was recovered from the scene.

Before release of the video, (The link contains a copious number of angles and clips from different dashcams and bodycams, 911 calls etc, released by the department) the office of the Cook County State’s Attorney walked back a statement made by one of their prosecutors, who asserted Toledo had a gun in his right hand when he was shot.

Roman, 21, was arrested shortly before noon Friday in the 1600 block of South 18th Avenue in Maywood, Illinois, in relation to a probation violation warrant. He is charged with felony reckless discharge of a firearm, felony unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and felony endangerment of a child.

In a proffer, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office said Roman was walking south on Sawyer Avenue toward 24th Street in Little Village at 2:36 a.m. Monday, March 29. Roman was wearing a gold Carhartt jacket and a gold shirt and dark pants, while Adam was wearing a navy blue hoodie, dark pants, and a white hat – and they could easily be told apart, prosecutors said.

Video from Farragut Career Academy High School showed Roman and Adam walking together, while a vehicle was seen heading down the street away from where they were. The video appears to show Ruben walk up to the corner and take a shooting stance, while Adam first starts to move back in the direction from which they came and then moves back toward Roman as Roman fires shots, prosecutors said.

Adam was next to Roman for a portion of time that Roman was firing shots, after which point Roman ran back the way they came – followed close behind by Adam, prosecutors said. A ShotSpotter alert recorded eight shots being fired, and a total of seven shell casings were found at the scene where Roman was shooting, prosecutors said.

After the shots were fired, Roman and Adam began running north on Sawyer Avenue and cut into a gangway at 2324 S. Sawyer Ave., prosecutors said. Two uniformed Chicago Police officers pulled up less than a minute after the shots were fired as Ruben and Adam fled in the alley, prosecutors said.

Both officers got out of their squad car and chased the pair down the alley, prosecutors said. Roman was taken to the ground first and one of the officers detained him as he dropped a pair of red gloves on the ground, prosecutors said. This was captured by the officer’s body camera, prosecutors said.

The gloves later tested positive for gunshot residue, prosecutors said.

As Roman was being detained, the other officer kept chasing Adam down the alley and told him to stop, but he kept running, prosecutors said. Adam then stopped near a break in a wooden fence, and the officer ordered Adam to show his hands, prosecutors said.

At that point, Adam was standing with his left side toward the officer, and had his right hand at his right side, prosecutors said. Adam turned toward the officer, and it turned out he had a gun in his right hand, prosecutors said. The officer ordered him to drop the gun, prosecutors said.

When he did not, the officer shot Adam once in the chest, prosecutors said. The officer gave Adam CPR afterward, but Adam did not survive.

The gun that Adam was holding landed a few feet away against the fence, prosecutors said.

Adam was pronounced dead at the scene. His right hand also tested positive for gunshot residue, and the Ruger 9mm was recovered against the fence, prosecutors said.

The fired shell casings from the scene matched up to the Ruger 9mm, prosecutors said.

But now, in response to a WGN Investigates inquiry, the state’s attorney’s office says the detail about Adam having a gun in his hand the moment he was shot was inaccurate.

“An attorney who works in this office failed to fully inform himself before speaking in court,” Sarah Sinovic, a spokesperson for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, told WGN Investigates Thursday. It comes just before the Civilian Office of Police Accountability releases several videos of the incident.

Prosecutors also told the judge in Roman’s case that Toledo’s right hand tested positive for gunshot residue.

When asked during a Thursday news conference at City Hall, Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined to say whether videos she has seen show the 13-year-old with a gun in his hand.

Police have said a 9MM Ruger was found along a fence next to where Toledo was shot.