Who was Adam Toledo and how did he die?
CHICAGO teenager Adam Toledo was shot and killed by police officers on March 29, 2021. Illinois officials released the body cam footage that documented the fatal encounter between 13-year-old Toledo and a police officers. Who was Adam Toledo? Toledo, 13, was reportedly with a 21-year-old man – identified as Ruben Roman – the day of […]
CHICAGO teenager Adam Toledo was shot and killed by police officers on March 29, 2021.
Illinois officials released the body cam footage that documented the fatal encounter between 13-year-old Toledo and a police officers.
Who was Adam Toledo?
Toledo, 13, was reportedly with a 21-year-old man – identified as Ruben Roman – the day of his death.
Toledo was a seventh grader at Gary Elementary School.
A family attorney said the teenager lived with his mother, grandfather and two siblings.
The 13-year-old was reported missing by his mother, Elizabeth Toledo, on Friday, March 26.
He returned home the following day, but his mother did not call police to report he had returned home.
On March 31, detectives again called Elizabeth to say that the description of her son resembled an unidentified person in the morgue.
The worried mother then told detectives she hadn’t seen her son since he had left home again, either late on March 27 or early on March 28.
However, she did not report him missing a second time.
How did he die?
The teenager was shot and killed early March 29, when officers responding to a “shots fired” call on the city’s West Side saw “two males in a nearby alley,” according to police.
One of them was armed, according to police, and ran away.
One officer opened fire, hitting one person in the chest.
In one graphic body cam clip, an officer can be seen driving to the scene and running down an alley way, shouting: “stop right f***ing now – show me your f***ing hands!”
The person he’s pursuing, wearing a white baseball cap and later identified as Adam, can be seen turning towards the cop before gunshots ring out and he falls on the fencing behind him.
“Shots fired, shots fired – get an ambulance over here now!” the cop can be heard saying before approaching the boy, who is bleeding profusely. “Look at me – where are you shot?”
After calling for help and confirming they had a gunshot victim “shot by the police,” the officer said: “Where are you shot man, where are you shot? Stay with me, stay with me.”
The disturbing video shows Adam gasping for air as the officer leans over him and repeatedly asks the dispatcher to send an ambulance.
When other officers arrive on the scene, one cop can be heard saying that he could not feel a heartbeat.
Civilian Office of Police Accountability’s statement read: “Videos released today have not been edited in any form, however redactions protecting personal and private identifying information have been made.
“COPA’s commitment and practice since inception, is to release video and other materials in an objective and transparent manner, without commentary or narrative and in their original state as captured during the
incident.
“Release in this manner is necessary to avoid even the slightest appearance of bias or prejudgment in advance of the completion of our investigation.
“Finally, videos released today are identical to those reviewed by the family and their representatives on April 13, 2021 at COPA’s headquarters.
“We ask for calm and peace following today’s release and ask for patience as COPA continues to bring this investigation to conclusion.”
What did Toledo’s family say about the video?
Through their lawyer, Adam’s family said seeing the video was “extremely difficult and heartbreaking for everyone present.”
“We also want to thank leaders and members of the Latino community for remaining peaceful in their protests and calls for justice,” the statement said.
“Adam’s memory can best be honored by refraining from violence and working constructively for reform.”
What did Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot say about the police bodycam video?
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged the public to remain peaceful and reserve judgment until an independent board can complete its probe into the police shooting, which took place on March 29.
“We live in a city that is traumatized by a long history of police violence and misconduct,” the mayor said.
“So while we don’t have enough information to be the judge and jury of this particular situation, it is certainly understandable why so many of our residents are feeling that all too familiar surge of outrage and pain.
“It is even clearer that trust between our community and law enforcement is far from healed and remains badly broken.”
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She called the jumpy footage, released on April 15, “excruciating”.
The mayor added: “As a mom, this is not something you want children to see.”
Roman, who was with Adam, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and child endangerment.