Protests call on State's Attorney Kim Foxx to reverse decision not to charge officers who killed Adam Toledo, Anthony Alvarez
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced this week that the Chicago police officers who shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez in separate foot chases just days apart last March of last year won't be charged – and two protests were planned Wednesday to try to change Foxx's mind.
As CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported Wednesday, it has been almost a year since the deaths of Toledo and Alvarez. But the anger remains fresh for some, after Foxx said her hands are tied and she cannot pursue criminal charges in either case.
In the first of two demonstrations Wednesday along Washington Street at the edge of Daley Plaza, members of the Little Village Community Council and other activists called for charges against Chicago Police officers Eric Stillman and Evan Solano – who shot and killed Toledo and Alvarez, respectively.
Foxx said Tuesday that neither her office nor an appellate prosecutor's office could find enough evidence to support criminal charges in the two cases. She also said while officers in both cases might have violated Chicago Police Department foot pursuit policies during the two incidents, there is not sufficient evidence that they committed a crime, noting that in both cases, the officers reasonably feared for their lives.
"When we look at these cases, we must now also look at the law as it applies. Under Illinois law, an officer is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm when he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or to other such persons," she said. "Police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving."
Adam Toledo was shot and killed by Officer Eric Stillman 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.
"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.
Foxx cited that surveillance video footage when describing the decision not to charge Stillman with a crime.
"Officer Stillman believed that Adam had a gun. After running nearly a full block in the alley, Officer Stillman saw a handgun in Adam's right hand, and shouted for him to drop it. Before dropping the weapon, Adam began turning his body towards Officer Stillman, with his left hand raised up in front of his body, and his right hand lowered to his side, behind the wooden fencepost. Officer Stillman saw the weapon in Adam Toledo's right hand, as Adam was stopped near the wooden fence, and began turning towards Officer Stillman," Foxx said.
Foxx noted that less than one second passed from the time Toledo began turning towards the officer and raising his hand, and the moment Stillman shot him.
"Based on the facts, the evidence, and the law, we have concluded that there was no evidence to prove that Officer Stillman acted with criminal intent. Officer Stillman fired only one shot. Officer Stillman explained that, after he fired the one time, he saw Adam's right hand was empty. He assessed the situation, and did not fire again, because he believed the threat no longer existed," she said. "Officer Stillman reacted to the perceived threat presented by Adam Toledo, who he believed at the time was turning toward him to shoot him. After the single shot was fired, and Officer Stillman recognized that Adam Toledo was no longer a threat, he immediately rendered aid, and continued to do so until the assisting officers and the paramedics arrived."
Anthony Alvarez was shot and killed two days after Toledo was. Alvarez was shot by Officer Evan Solano while holding a gun in his right hand as he was running away from Solano and his partner on March 31, 2021.
Surveillance video from the night of the shooting, which happened in the early-morning hours on Wednesday, March 31 - shows a squad car chasing Alvarez at a gas station in Portage Park.
Officer Solano's body camera shows him running down an alley and eventually around a corner onto a front lawn near Laramie Avenue and Eddy Street. Alvarez's back was facing the officer at the moment he was shot, but a gun was visible in his right hand, moving from right to left. Solano shot him in the back and knee.
"As officer Solano rounded the corner, and observed Mr. Alvarez in a crouching position with a gun in his hand, and also observed Mr. Alvarez looking back at him while running with the gun in his hand, he thought Mr. Alvarez was turning to shoot toward him and his partner, who he believed was behind him," Foxx said. "Officer Solano then fired five successive shots in the span of one second, as he veered to the left to avoid any shots fired by Mr. Alvarez, and he stopped once he no longer saw the gun in Mr. Alvarez's hand."
The decisions drew outrage a day later.
"We are tired of Kim Foxx! She does not have the willingness to even go to trial!" said activist Eric Russell of the Tree of Life Justice League. "We don't mind losing, but put up a good fight for us!"
Supporters now want to raise the issue to the federal level and to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
"I see myself in Adam Toledo. I see myself running through the streets at 3 a.m. I see myself in his shoes. He could have been my little brother. He could have been my cousin, my nephew. He could have been my own, you know? Or family member. That's why I feel such a strong connection to this particular case," said community organizer Kristian Armendariz. "It was a 13-year-old child. He had his whole future ahead of him."
Foxx did emphasize that both officers may have violated the CPD foot pursuit policy.
"It's important to highlight that the officers themselves created the conditions which the use of deadly force became necessary," Foxx said Monday.
A foot pursuit policy was introduced last May – largely dependent on whether the public is in danger before officers have the right to start chasing. But that is not enough as far as activists are concerned.
"If it wasn't for them – those two individuals conducting that foot pursuit – Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez would have still been alive," Armendariz said.
A demonstration was also held at Federal Plaza – this one in support of Alvarez. That protest later made its way to Washington Street alongside Daley Plaza.
Both families have also started legal action against the City of Chicago, and the officers involved.