Interim police superintendent calls for firing of officer who shot, killed Adam Toledo
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Interim Chicago Police Supt. Eric Carter recommended that the officer who shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo two years ago be fired.
Officer Eric Stillman shot and killed Toledo after a foot chase in an alley near 24th Street and Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on March 29, 2021, less than a second — to be precise, 838 milliseconds — after Toledo dropped a gun he had been carrying.
Video footage released weeks after the shooting shows Toledo and 21-year-old Ruben Roman standing on a street corner when several shots were fired early on the morning of March 29. Both then ran past a church and into a nearby alley. Body camera footage shows an officer chasing Toledo down the alley, telling the boy to show the officer his hands.
Toledo 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 Toledo'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 Toledo 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 Toledo has his hands up, and they appear to be empty.
The shooting prompted protests over police use of force, and calls for the police to halt foot pursuits altogether until the department completely overhauls its foot chase policy.
In his recommendation to the Police Board, Carter wrote that Stillman's deadly use of force was not necessary – and noted that Stillman did not use de-escalation techniques to prevent the need for deadly force.
Carter also charged that Stillman did not notify the Office of Emergency Management and Communications before beginning a foot pursuit, did not wait for backup assistance before the pursuit, and separated from his partner, Officer Corina Gallegos, during the pursuit.
Stillman also failed to activate his body-worn camera in a timely fashion, Carter wrote.
Toledo's mother renewed the call for Stillman to be fired on March 29 – the second anniversary of the deadly police shooting.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability last fall recommended Stillman be fired. But then-police Supt. David Brown did not agree – recommending that Stillman be suspended for no more than five days.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx declined to charge Officer Eric Stillman in Toledo's death.