Chicago Police released body-cam footage Thursday (April 15) of the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Latino boy Adam Toledo at the hands of Chicago cop Eric Stillman on March 29.
The graphic video posted by the Chicago-Sun Times begins with Stillman chasing Toledo down an alleyway on foot in the early morning yelling at him to “Stop! Stop right f—ing now!”
After running a few more yards, Toledo slows down and Stillman gives him another verbal command: “Hands! Show me your f—ing hands right now!”
Toledo then turns toward Stillman with his hands up. Stillman then says, “Drop it!” That’s when a single shot rings out. The bullet from Stillman’s gun hits Toledo in the upper chest and he falls to the ground and leans on his side.
“Shots fired, shots fired, get an ambulance up here now,” Stillman says as he moves toward the boy who is slumped on the ground. “Look at me. Look at me. You alright? Where you shot? Stay with me. Stay with me.”
Toledo lays motionless on the ground as Stillman lifts his sweatshirt to see where the bullet entered his body. Medics then come rushing in and try to save the boy’s life. At this point, Stillman has stepped a few feet away from the boy, but his body-cam footage shows the medics performing chest compressions on Toledo. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ruben Roman, a 21-year-old man who was with Toledo that morning, was arrested for reckless discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and endangerment of a child. Chicago Police were called to the area for reports of gunshots. Prosecutors say Roman fired a gun at a passing car before handing it to Toledo.
In hopes to bring the temperature down in the city with the release of the video, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a press conference to discuss the tragic event.
“We all must proceed with deep empathy and calm, and importantly, peace,” she said.