The city of Chicago is set to release video footage of a fatal police-involved shooting last month, and is bracing for possible violence in response to the footage, as reported by Fox News.
The shooting in question took place on March 29th, when police responded to a report of shots fired in Chicago’s West Side. Upon arriving at the scene, they encountered two suspects, a 21-year-old man and 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who fled the scene. One officer fired a single shot that hit Toledo in the chest, which killed him. Police confirmed that Toledo was holding a handgun as he was running, and gun residue was found on his hands after the shooting.
Initially, the footage was not set to be released since it involved a minor. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D-Ill.) and Police Superintendent David Brown ultimately overruled that restriction and pushed for the release of the footage due to the highly controversial and widely-publicized nature of the shooting.
“I do want to be respectful of the family,” Lightfoot said, “but I do also think a police-involved shooting, particularly under these circumstances, it’s important for us to be transparent.” The footage from the incident, set to be released today, will include both body-camera footage worn by police officers that day as well as footage captured by third-party witnesses, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA).
There have been numerous protests in the aftermath of Toledo’s death, part of a broader wave of riots across the country over multiple similar situations in recent months. Most notably, a similar incident took place earlier this week in nearby Minnesota, where 20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer in the city of Brooklyn Center after resisting arrest. Wright, who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for aggravated robbery, was killed after an officer withdrew her firearm, mistaking it for her taser.