IL - Adam Toledo, 13, shot and killed by Chicago police officer, 29 Mar 2021

[al66pine]

“...This is why journalists must stop reporting law enforcement accounts as fact,” tweeted the New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones.
"Chris Geidner,..., went further: “… any narrative reliant on ‘police said’ is a failure of journalism. At best, police should be treated as one source for a story – an unreliable narrator in instances like officer shootings – and thus not sufficient to establish the story.” bbm sbm

What about any narrative reliant on what grieving 'mother said' (or spouse, GF, BF)? A failure of journalism?

_____________________________________
* When It Comes to Police Sources, Journalists Do Not Always Display Appropriate Skepticism

 

[al66pine]

Confrontation - Armed or Unarmed? My Last Comment about this story

.., a police statement which said Toledo died in an “armed confrontation.” An image of a gun recovered at the scene was also released....Body camera footage ... shows a chase which ends with Toledo turning his body toward the officer, arms raised. There is no gun is his hands when the shot is fired....When It Comes to Police Sources, Journalists Do Not Always Display Appropriate Skepticism

@imstilla.grandma sbm bbm Thx for your post. Once again, not directing this at you, but the linked article.*
So is ^ writer saying:
- after gunfire is reported at 2:30 a.m.,
- LEO spots a youth (and another person?) moving in an alley,
- instructs him (both of them?) to stop,
- youth fails to comply w instructions,
- youth flees (presumably other one does too),
- LEO chases youth,
- LEO gives further orders to youth,
- youth fails to comply, continues fleeing,
- youth maintains arms & hands in positions hidden from LEO,
- youth pauses,
- youth turns around to a position where right arm & hand are still hidden from LEO,
- youth turns torso toward LEO w right hand still hidden,
- then youth completes turn, and shows empty right hand.
-immediately LEOs on scene locate a handgun very close (within a couple feet, iirc? dropping range) to where youth stood when he finally turned to LEO & showed w both empty hands.

Is writer saying LE misled media & public by saying it was an armed confrontation?
How is above sequence of events - on video - not an armed confrontation?
Somebody, 'splain it to me. Please. Anyone?

______________________________________________________
* When It Comes to Police Sources, Journalists Do Not Always Display Appropriate Skepticism thewire.com

[[[Sarcasm Alert: To qualify as armed confrontation does person fleeing have to shoot and injure or kill LEO ??? ]]]

 

[Marg from Oz]

The accomplice gave incorrect details to police. It wasn't until later that they identified him. First report could of been what accomplice told them. MOO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Adam's eldest brother Marco Toledo Jr. remembered the teen as the most loving and caring little boy he had ever known. The memory he wanted to hold closest to his heart was when he got his first car.

Adam and their other brother Anthony would always want to assist Marco in washing the car. Marco said Adam loved movie nights at home and was a fan of the film "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

Marco looked forward to spending the night with his little brothers at the house he recently bought outside Chicago. One of his last memories of Adam was him jumping around happily as he ate pizza.

Marco advocated for Adam throughout the investigation. According to him, the teen was not the evil child that other people might claim he was. As he noted, no teenager and no human can be perfect.

"No matter what people say, kids will be kids and will make mistakes, but will learn from them," Marco said. He added that one thing his brother did not get the chance to do was to learn from his mistakes.

The Toledos have recently joined a group of families who grieved the loss of their loved ones taken by gun violence in the last few weeks. One mom said children should be free to go anywhere in their city.

Adeena Weiss-Ortiz, attorney for the Toledo family, was recently quoted as saying that they will safeguard the future by prohibiting such tragedies from occurring to other children.
Adam Toledo's Brother Remembers the Teen as Loving and Caring After Police Shooting

 

[al66pine]

Somewhat O/T - ShotSpotter system alerted LE to a shooting in this OH case and to another one in FL* as well.
No MSM mention I've seen in either case about 911 calls alerting LE to the scene, but coulda missed it.
Esp'ly in FL case, where "Police recovered more than 60 bullets on the scene." *
How can anyone in hearing range miss the sound of 60 shots fired? Strange imo.

Now back to Columbus case.
______________________________________
* In Miami FL toddler was shot & killed, likely by a "stray bullet."
"Officers arrived on the scene after being alerted through the ShotSpotter system, a technology that listens for gunshots and is installed throughout nearly 100 American cities.
"A 21-year-old woman was also shot in the incident. Police recovered more than 60 bullets on the scene."
Florida toddler shot and killed at own birthday party Ap. 25.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 5, 2021
Adam Toledo: Official resigns after probe into prosecutor's statements
An official in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office resigned after an investigation into in-court statements made by a prosecutor suggesting 13-year-old Adam Toledo had a gun when he was killed by Chicago police in March.

Staff were informed Wednesday that First Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Coleman resigned, spokeswoman Sarah Sinovic confirmed in an email to USA TODAY. The resignation comes after a "breakdown of communication" that led to misleading statements being made in court in early April, according to a report released Wednesday.

MAY 6, 2021
Medical examiner releases Adam Toledo autopsy details - Chicago Sun-Times
[...]

The autopsy report concluded Adam was killed by a single bullet which entered the left side of his chest and exited the right side of his back. It made no note of any “soot deposition or gunpowder particles” on his clothing. Police also took samples of clothing to test for gunshot residue before the start of the autopsy, but no results have been provided to the Sun-Times.

[...]

The investigator did document that Adam was fatally shot by police after officers were responding to “a call of shots fired.” At the time of the report, the identity of Adam was “Unknown” — Adam was carrying no ID. The investigator also listed Adam as between 21 and 30 years old.

That estimate of Adam’s age would not change until he was eventually identified two days later, on March 31.

[...]

MAY 6, 2021
Adam Toledo Chicago: Kim Foxx's office concludes attorney did not intend to give impression teen was holding gun when shot by CPD - ABC7 Chicago
The state's attorney's office outlined various action steps that will be taken in the future, including training about presenting facts in court and more checks and balances.

The attorney who made the statements in bond court has returned to his assignment and is no longer on leave.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 25, 2021
Adam Toledo's family creates sanctuary for at-risk youth in his honor
Adam Toledo would have celebrated his 14th birthday on Wednesday.

But today, his family will stand in front of a mural of Adam, who was fatally shot by a white Chicago police officer in the early hours of March 29 on the city's West Side, to announce the creation of Adam's Place, a rural sanctuary for at-risk youth.

"A year ago, his family celebrated with pizza and cake," Adeena Weiss Ortiz and Joel Hirschhorn, lawyers for the Toledo family, said in a statement Tuesday. "This year, as they struggle with their grief, Adam's parents and siblings are dedicating themselves to helping other families prevent the excruciating sorrow that comes from the loss of a child."

MAY 26, 2021
Adam Toledo: Family creates Adam's Place to help at-risk youth dedicated to 13-year-old killed in Chicago police shooting - ABC7 Chicago
"What I really want is to have Adam back. And I can't do that. But we can try help other families protect their sons from the temptations that took Adam onto the street that night," family attorney Adeena Weiss Ortiz said, reading a statement from Toledo's mother, Elizabeth Toledo.

Preferring to let her attorney read her statement, Elizabeth Toledo described her son's love for animals, which is where the idea for Adam's Place was born. The goal is to start with a class of eight inner city youth drawn from Chicago's Little Village.

"Put them in an environment, let them understand how we depend on cattle and sheep to feed us and the cattle and sheep depend on us to feed them," family attorney Joel Hirschhorn said.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 1, 2021
Man With Adam Toledo, 13-Year-Old Shot by Chicago Police, Pleads Not Guilty
Defense attorney Michael Oppenheimer, during a hearing before Cook County Circuit Judge Charles Burns, entered the not-guilty plea on Ruben Roman’s behalf.

Roman, 21, was indicted in May on three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of recklessly discharging a firearm. Not included is a child endangerment charge which were filed against Roman when he was arrested.

The child endangerment charge was dropped after the Cook County state’s attorney’s office determined erroneous information was entered into the court record about the shooting by a prosecutor.

SEP 23, 2021
Adam Toledo, Boy Killed By Chicago Cop, Remembered By National Museum Of Mexican Art (blockclubchicago.org)
Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old whom Chicago police shot and killed, is being remembered at the National Museum of Mexican Art’s Día de los Muertos exhibit.

Día de los Muertos — Day of the Dead — is a Mexican holiday that runs Nov. 1-2, honoring people who have died by decorating ofrendas, or altars, with their pictures, flowers and other mementos. The museum’s ofrenda for Toledo, and the exhibition as a whole, has gotten a positive reception, said museum educator Gilberto Sandoval.

“It really shows he was just a kid,” Sandoval said.

 

[airportwoman]

He was a kid who was headed down a very dangerous road IMHO. I just hope this can all lead to something positive in the end.

 

[Marg from Oz]

He may have been just a kid. None the less he was a kid roaming the street in possession of a gun. MOO

 

[sds71]

@ByMattMasterson

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announces Chicago police Officer Eric Stillman will not be charged in fatal on-duty shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

 

[tlcya]

wow, look at me agreeing with the likes of Kim Foxx. Who'da thunk it.

I feel for Adam's family. I haven't followed this case in a while. That said, my opinion remains unchanged from when we first saw the video. Adam was engaged in very dangerous behavior alongside a grown man. He allowed a grown man to pass off a weapon that had just been discharged at others in the wee morning hours. For all the reasons outlined by @al66pine above, while I am sad for his family, his behavior on the night in question left the officer little choice.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

wow, look at me agreeing with the likes of Kim Foxx. Who'da thunk it.

I feel for Adam's family. I haven't followed this case in a while. That said, my opinion remains unchanged from when we first saw the video. Adam was engaged in very dangerous behavior alongside a grown man. He allowed a grown man to pass off a weapon that had just been discharged at others in the wee morning hours. For all the reasons outlined by @al66pine above, while I am sad for his family, his behavior on the night in question left the officer little choice.

And the officer administered aid immediately, if I recall correctly from the video. All too often, that doesn't happen. That makes a big difference for me. JMO.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Partner of officer who shot and killed Adam Toledo testifies in gun case of man who was allegedly with the teen before he was slain

A man who prosecutors say was with 13-year-old Adam Toledo on the morning he was slain was facing trial Wednesday on weapons charges, perhaps shedding more light on Toledo's shooting by a Chicago police officer.

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trial begins for man who allegedly was with Adam Toledo the night 13-year-old was killed by CPD officer

Ruben Roman, who was 21 when Toledo killed in 2021, faces charges for allegedly shooting at a car shortly before fatal footchase with police.

chicago.suntimes.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

Judge to rule Friday in trial of man who was with Adam Toledo when cop shot 13-year-old

Lawyers for Ruben Roman say evidence suggests 13-year-old Adam Toledo fired shots that drew police, led to fatal foot chase.

chicago.suntimes.com

 

[PommyMommy]

NOV 18, 2022

Adam Toledo shooting: Man who was with teen boy night he was fatally shot by police found not guilty

Judge Charles Burns said that grainy surveillance video and forensic evidence put forward by prosecutors could not prove that Roman, then 21, was shooting at a passing car.

abc7chicago.com

[...]

Judge Charles Burns said that grainy surveillance video and forensic evidence put forward by prosecutors could not prove that Roman, then 21, was shooting at a passing car moments before police found Roman and Toledo walking in a nearby alley, or even that Roman had held the gun that was found next to Toledo's body.

"I believe that this is a very strong circumstantial case, however with the oath that I take, I'm going to follow the law and follow the evidence, and I don't feel at this point in time that the evidence presented by the state, while compelling, does not prove" that Roman fired or possessed the gun, Burns said.

"I do not believe Mr. Roman is innocent, nor will I ever say that he is innocent. But there's a difference between calling somebody innocent and saying someone is not guilty."

[...]

Man who was with Adam Toledo night of deadly shooting found not guilty

CHICAGO — The man who was with 13-year-old Adam Toledo the night of his deadly shooting by a Chicago police officer last year has been found not guilty. Ruben Roman, 22, was found not guilty on all…

wgntv.com

[...]

The judge in Roman’s case said the state failed to provide guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. When referring to evidence, Judge Charles Burns said it was not enough to prove that ROman processed or fired the gun that was found near Toledo’s body.

Officer Eric Stillman was not charged by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. However, he is still facing an evidentiary hearing to determine if Stillman will face any disciplinary measures.

While Roman’s charges were dropped, he is still facing separate charges on a 2019 gun case in Skokie.

[...]