Unedited Video Out in Fatal Shooting of Adam Toledo, 13

Chicago teen's raised hands appeared to be empty
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 16, 2021 1:30 AM CDT
Unedited Video Is Out in Adam Toledo Shooting
Dozens of protesters march down the Magnificent Mile after the city of Chicago released videos of 13-year-old Adam Toledo being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer, Thursday evening, April 15, 2021, in Chicago.   (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Bodycam and surveillance videos have been released in the fatal police shooting of Adam Toledo in Chicago March 29, though it's still not clear whether the 13-year-old boy was armed when officer Eric Stillman shot him in the chest. Per the Chicago Sun-Times, when bodycam footage is slowed down, it does appear Toledo is holding a gun at one point. However, when Stillman orders him to stop, Toledo turns around and raises his hands—which then appear to be empty. As CBS Chicago reports, Toledo's right hand was briefly behind a fence where a gun was later discovered, and it's possible he dropped the gun there before putting his hands up; another video appears to show him throwing something behind or through a gap in the fence. Within less than a second of Stillman ordering Toledo to "drop it," the shot was fired. Toledo died at the scene.

Reaction across the city was emotional, NBC Chicago reports, and protests followed. "The videos speak for themselves," an attorney for the family said. "Adam, during his last seconds of his life, did not have a gun on his hand. The officer screamed at him 'show me your hands!' Adam complied and turned around. His hands were empty when he was shot in the chest at the hands of the officer." Toledo's family says it is exploring legal action against the police, but it is also calling for peace, saying they don't want to "compound this tragedy, inflaming emotions or inciting violence." The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is still investigating the shooting, but the president of the Fraternal Order of Police says Stillman "was 100% right. The offender still turned with a gun in his hand. This occurred in eight-tenths of a second." Stillman's lawyer says he doesn't believe his client will be charged. (More Adam Toledo stories.)

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