Chicago police may have to check with their supervisor before chasing suspects on foot after 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot dead in the city
Chicago police officers may have to check with their supervisor before chasing suspects on foot after a 13-year-old was shot dead in the city.
The death of Adam Toledo, who was shot in the chest by police on March 29, has sparked fresh debate over law enforcement's use of force.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot strongly condemned the killing and recently said there would be changes to police policy in Chicago as a result.
'No one should die as a result of a foot chase', she said, but later acknowledged there is no perfect solution to the problem.
'I don't want people out there who are dangerous to think, 'Well, if I just run, then I'm safe. I can continue to wreak havoc,' the mayor said. 'We can't live in that world, either.'
Mayor Lori Lightfoot strongly condemned the killing of Adam Toledo and recently said there would be changes to police policy in Chicago as a result
Chicago police officers may have to check with their supervisor before pursuing suspects on foot after 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot dead in the city
Chicago police already require supervisors permission to initiate a vehicle chase for a suspect (pictured, a police officer chases a protester)
Chicago police already require supervisors permission to initiate a vehicle chase for a suspect.
Asking officers to request permission before pursuing a suspect on foot would simply be extending the policy, city Alderman Brian Hopkins told Fox 32.
But, Hopkins noted officers would likely waste valuable time waiting for approval while the suspect got away making the change 'moot', he said.
He also said suspects are more often using vehicles to escape police because they are aware officers needed permission to initiate a pursuit.
The changes come after the death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on March 29.
The youngster, who wanted to be a cop when he grew up, was shot fatally in the chest by police officer Eric E. Stillman in the 2300-block of South Sawyer.
Police said officers were dispatched to the Little Village neighborhood on the city's West Side shortly after 2am when ShotSpotter technology detected the sound of gunfire in the area.
'Officers observed two subjects in a nearby alley, one subject fled on foot' and the officers began chasing him, department spokesman Tom Ahern said.
The changes come after Adam Toledo was shot fatally in the chest by police officer Eric E. Stillman in the 2300-block of South Sawyer
The officers chased him into an alley behind Farragut Career Academy High School, where one officer shot him once in the chest.
He - later identified as Adam Toledo - was pronounced dead at the scene while another suspect, Ruben Roman, 21, was taken into custody.
Shortly after the shooting, police shared a photo of a handgun recovered at the scene.
Chigaco's police review board released body camera footage of the March 29 shooting on Thursday last week.
The video showed that Toledo's hands were empty when he was shot, despite police saying he was holding a gun at the time.
Police say the teen had a handgun on him that morning, and that less than a second passed from when Toledo is seen with a gun in hand and when Stillman opened fire.
The bodycam footage shows the officer shining a light on a handgun on the ground near the teen after he shot him.
The release of police body camera footage of Toledo's death left Chicago on a knife edge, with police on high alert over protests and fears gangs could retaliate over the shooting
Earlier footage also appears to show the boy was carrying a gun in the moments before he was shot, throwing it behind a fence before turning to face the cop.
An attorney for Adam's family said Thursday: 'It could be a gun, I’m not going to deny that but it’s not relevant, because if he had a gun, he tossed it.'
According to the Washington Post, Toledo is the youngest person killed by the police in Chicago since at least 2015.
His death has sparked mass protests in Chicago with demonstrators demanding changes to policing in the city and justice for the youngster.
Police department stats released on April 1 showed there were 131 homicides reported in the first three months of 2021, compared to 98 during the same period last year.
At least 706 people were shot through the end of March. Chicago did not report its 500th shooting victim in 2020 until April.
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