Adam Toledo Shooting Video Released By Civilian Office Of Police Accountability As Mayor, Community Leaders Urge Calm
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Body camera video and other materials from the police shooting that killed Adam Toledo, 13, were released Thursday on the Civilian Office of Police Accountability website.
CBS 2's Charlie De Mar viewed a compilation of three videos of the shooting Thursday afternoon, and reports the footage shows Adam and 21-year-old Ruben Roman standing on a street corner when several shots were fired early on the morning of March 29. Adam can be seen wearing a white hat, and Roman can be seen wearing a tan jacket.
Both then ran past a church and into a nearby alley. Body camera footage shows an officer chasing Adam down the alley, telling the boy to show the officer his hands.
"Stop! Stop right f***ing now! Hands! Show me your f***ing hands!" the officer is heard saying.
Adam can then be seen stopping near a gap in the fence in the alley, with both hands at his side, his left shoulder facing the officer.
When the video is slowed down, a frame of the footage does appear to show a gun in Adam's hand just before he raises his arms and the officer opens fire.
Surveillance video of the same moment from a different angle appears to show Adam with his right arm behind the fence, possibly making a throwing motion, and then turning back toward the officer.
However, at the moment when the officer opens fire, the body camera video shows Adam has his hands up, and they appear to be empty.
The first time a gun is clearly visible in the officer's body camera video is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after the officer shot Adam, when the officer shines his flashlight on a handgun on the ground, leaning against the fence next to Adam, on the other side of the alley.
How did that gun get to the back side of the fence? That's likely a key question in the COPA investigation of the shooting.
Surveillance camera video from a building near the alley appears to show Adam's hand on the other side of the fence from the alley just instants before he was shot.
Only a matter of seconds elapse between the time the officer yelled for Adam to stop, asking him to show his hands, Adam putting his hands up, and the officer shooting him.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said only about one second elapsed between the time Adam began turning toward the officer and when the officer shot him.
After shooting Adam, the officer can be heard radioing for medical help.
"Where you shot man? Stay with me. Stay with me. Somebody bring the medical kit now! F***! I need a medical kit. F***ing chest wound to the upper chest. Hurry up!" the officer is heard saying to a dispatcher.
The officer then apparently tried to treat Adam's wound and performed chest compressions as other officers arrive at the scene.
"Stay awake, bud. Come on, bud, stay awake," an officer can be heard saying as the officer who shot Adam performed chest compressions.
After attempting CPR for a couple minutes, the officer then walks away and starts pacing as other officers apparently tried to provide aid to the boy.
A second officer's body camera video shows an officer tackling a person in a tan or brown jacket, possibly Roman, as the officer who eventually shot Adam was chasing the boy. After cuffing that person, that officer walks over to where Adam is lying on the ground as police try to perform CPR, one officer repeatedly saying "stay awake."
Police reports identify the officer who shot Adam Toledo as 34-year-old Eric Stillman, who has been on the force since 2015 and is assigned to the 10th District.
He has nine use of force reports, but had never shot anyone until now.
Ahead of the video's release, Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined a coalition of community leaders urging Chicago to remain calm, and to "reserve judgement until COPA has done its work."
"I urge each resident who cares and loves this city, let's wait until we hear all of the facts," she said. "We all must proceed with deep empathy and calm, and, importantly, peace."
On Thursday morning, Chicago Police increased its patrols in the Loop to prepare in case any protests turn violent.
Karina Ayala-Bermejo, president and CEO of the Instituto del Progreso Latino and one of the community leaders who joined Lightfoot at a City Hall press conference before the video was released, also asked for any protests to remain peaceful.
"I call for peace. I call for justice. But I also call for non-violence," she said.
Lightfoot said she has viewed the videos of the fatal shooting of Adam Toledo, "and they are incredibly difficult to watch. Particularly at the end."
"Let yourself feel the pain, anguish and shock to avoid becoming numb as you watch," she added.
Earlier Thursday, the Lightfoot administration and the Toledo family's attorneys also issued a joint statement calling for calm as the city braced for the video's release.
"Both parties agree that all material should be released, including a slowed-down compilation of the events of March 29 that resulted in the tragic death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.
"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. 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.
"COPA's investigation is ongoing as we seek to determine the full facts in this case. To that end, we call for full cooperation with COPA. We remain committed to working together toward reform. We ask that you continue to respect the Toledo family's privacy during this incredibly painful and difficult time."
Late Tuesday afternoon, Toledo's family viewed the video footage of the teen's shooting death by police during what authorities have said was an armed encounter in a Little Village alley early on the morning of Monday, March 29.
At the request of the family, COPA said Tuesday that it would not "immediately" release the body camera video to the public.
"COPA has remained sensitive to the family's grief and is carrying out this release in accordance with the City's Video Release Policy," the office said in a statement.
COPA said police body camera video, third party video, emergency dispatch transmissions and data from gunshot spotter tracking will be included in the release.
Attorneys from Weiss Ortiz, PC, representing the family, issued a statement after the family watched. They said watching the video was "difficult and heartbreaking" for the family:
"We met this evening with Adam Toledo's parents and representatives of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to view the police body camera video and other evidence pertaining to the March 29 police shooting of 13-year-old Adam. The experience was extremely difficult and heartbreaking for everyone present and especially for Adam's family.
"We want to thank COPA for giving the Toledo family the opportunity to review body camera video and other evidence before its public release. We are continuing to conduct our own investigations we seek justice for Adam and his family.
"We are meeting with representatives of the city of Chicago and will have no further comment on the facts in the case at this time.
"We do, however, want to take this opportunity to express the family's deep appreciation for the grace and respect that the community, Chicago authorities, and the media have shown for their suffering as they mourn the loss of their child. We ask that everyone continue to respect the Toledo family's privacy during this difficult time.
"We also want to thank leaders and members of the Latino community for remaining peaceful in their protests and calls for justice. Adam's memory can best be honored by refraining from violence and working constructively for reform."
At an unrelated event Wednesday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was asked about the family's request not to immediately release the video after they had watched it.
"This is a difficult set of circumstances. First and foremost, we have a family that is still incredibly in the throes of grief; a mom and father who have lost their son, siblings that have lost their brother, grandparents," Lightfoot said. "So I want to be respectful of the family, but I also do think that something like a police-involved shooting, particularly under these circumstances, is important for us to be transparent."
Lightfoot said the ongoing murder trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd is not "part of the calculus" in deciding when to release the video in the shooting death of Adam Toledo.
"This is about being respectful and balancing the need for transparency with this grieving family that's having an extraordinarily difficult time," Lightfoot said Wednesday.
At a bond hearing Saturday for Roman, the man who was with Adam Toledo at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said Adam had a gun in his hand when an officer shot and killed him.
Prosecutors said while Roman was the one to fire the gun before police began chasing them both, Adam was holding it when he was shot and killed by police at a point when Roman was already being detained.
However, on Thursday a spokesperson for the Cook County State's Attorney's office said that prosecutor misspoke.
"An attorney who works in this office failed to fully inform himself before speaking in court. Errors like that cannot happen and this has been addressed with the individual involved. The video speaks for itself," spokeswoman Sarah Sinovic said in an email.
Spokesperson for Cook County State's Attorney tells @cbschicago that a lawyer for their office misspoke in the case of #AdamToledo when Ruben Roman was in court. They said Toledo had a gun in his hand when he did not. "Errors like that cannot happen and this has been addressed."
— Chris Tye (@TVTye) April 15, 2021
Days after the shooting, we asked the family attorney about the possibility of Adam having a gun when police shot and killed him. The attorney, Adeena Weiss Ortiz, said such a development would surprise the family.
In the days immediately after the shooting, police never mentioned the person they shot was 13 years old. Instead, that information was released three days later by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker released a statement on the bodycam video made public on Thursday.
"As a father, I know to my core that Adam Toledo's family is living a parent's worst nightmare. My heart goes out to all who love him," said Pritzker. "Parents deserve neighborhoods that will nurture their kids. Children deserve to be safe. Communities deserve to live with hope for the future. Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old child, was shot to death. This is a moment that calls for justice for our children and accountability in all our public institutions. The State of Illinois is committed to this work, whether it is transforming our justice system or investing in communities to create durable and long-term progress."