The video appears to show that no ‘toy gun’ can be seen in Adam Toledo’s hands
On March 29th 2021, Adam Toledo was shot and killed by Chicago Police officer, Eric Stillman in the area known as Little Village on the west side of the city. Toledo was of Mexican-American ethnicity and just 13 years old.
Police were responding to reported gunshots in the area when Stillman chased down Toledo. The officer pursued the teenager, asking him to “stop right f***ing now!”.
After apparently believing he was holding something, he shouts “show me your f***ing hands!” and then asks him to “drop it”, before fatally shooting the teenager.
Stillman stated in his defence that while Toledo was not in possession of a firearm, he was holding “a toy gun”, which is why the officer drew his weapon. While there is no sight of a toy gun in Toledo’s hands, footage shows what appears to be a toy gun close to where he falls.
You can watch the clips here – understandably, the precise moments in which the police officer fires have been omitted. WARNING: the video contains distressing images.
Protests are taking place across Chicago and other cities, with this latest killing set against the backdrop of the recent death of Daunte Wright and Derek Chauvin’s trial over the killing of George Floyd.
More @Chicago_Police officers arrive outside FOP HEADQUARTERS as #AdamToledo protestors rally the shooting @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/oOexFEHaTc
— Jermont Terry (@JermontTerry) April 16, 2021
Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, spoke just hours before Stillman’s bodycam footage capturing Toledo’s shooting was released. Having already seen the images, she called them “excruciating” to watch, before stating: “Simply put, we failed Adam.”
She went on to say that “we cannot afford to fail one more young person in our city” and that while “[w]e live in a city that is traumatised by a long history of police violence and misconduct”, urging residents to remain calm. You can see her speaking ahead of the footage’s release, visibly upset, but still imploring people to be peaceful:
@chicagosmayor gets emotional speaking about the gun violence Chicago youths face daily. This comes hours before COPA will release @Chicago_Police video of #AdamToledo shooting pic.twitter.com/cJ2MXZBfSa
— Jermont Terry (@JermontTerry) April 15, 2021
