Corporate Media And Other Race-Baiters Have Incited More Violence Than Trump Ever Did
When you can convince people racism is rampant, you ignite a flame of division and destruction that can only end with bodies on the ground and cities leveled.
As calls continue to echo across the country for local and state governments to address concerns about police conduct, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) unveiled her newest police reform idea: Force cops to get permission before engaging in a foot chase with a suspect.
For the last week, the media and defund-the-police advocates have been up in arms over the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who died after being shot by a Chicago cop after a foot chase that ensued when police responded to a shots-fired call March 29.
Initially, the media reported that Toledo was unarmed, citing a still image from a police bodycam video that appeared to show the boy with his empty hands up.
However, the full video, which police released on April 15, revealed that Toledo had what appeared to be a gun in his hand and tossed it behind a fence just a second before turning toward police. Cops found a handgun in that spot following the shooting.
The event sparked outrage and protests in the Windy City along with continued calls for police reform.
Mayor Lightfoot announced her latest reform idea on Tuesday, telling reporters that she was considering requiring cops to get a supervisor's permission before getting into a foot chase, WFLD-TV reported.
"No one should die as a result of a foot chase," Lightfoot said, adding that she would announce new policy details in the near future.
The topic of permission for foot chases become all the rage after personal injury lawyer Arturo Jauregui held a news conference in response to the Toledo shooting demanding reform.
"This is a tragedy that could have and should have been prevented had the police department had clear procedures governing the use of lethal force against our children during foot chases," Jauregui told the media, WFLD said.
Democratic Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins told the outlet the mayor's office told him cops on foot could very soon be required to do what cops in cars have to do before chasing: Get the OK from higher ups.
But Hopkins sees an obvious problem.
"In the time it would take to do that, the person you're supposed to be chasing is actually long gone," he said. "The point would be moot then."
Perps on foot would suddenly have the advantage perps in cars enjoy.
"We're seeing more vehicles flee from police officers because word has gotten out that they're probably not going to get permission to chase you," Hopkins said.
For her part, Lightfoot at least acknowledged that clear conundrum.
"I don't want people out there who are dangerous to think, 'Well, if I just run, then I'm safe, and I can continue to wreak havoc,'" the mayor said. "We can't live in that world either."
WFLD said Lightfoot has vowed to produce new foot-chase rules soon.
A Chicago prosecutor was suspended on Friday after he allegedly "failed to fully present the facts" regarding the death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.
In the early morning hours on March 29, Chicago police officers responded to the Little Village neighborhood after reports of shots fired. Officers encountered Toledo and then-21-year-old Ruben Roman, both of whom allegedly attempted to flee, CBS News reported.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, a police watchdog, released bodycam footage last week showing what led up to Toledo's death.
The footage shows police tackled Roman, while another officer pursued Toledo. The teenager then stopped, turned toward the officer, who yelled, "Show me your f***ing hands," and then "Drop it!" before firing at Toledo.
According to WGN-TV, Toledo "appears to have dropped a gun and raised his hands just before a Chicago police officer fatally shot him."
The Chicago Sun-Times similarly reported that one angle of bodycam footage doesn't show Toledo "throwing away the gun, and the boy doesn't appear to be holding a weapon in his raised hands...but another video shows him apparently throwing something through a gap in the fence to the other side — and a video shows an officer discovering a handgun there."
Assistant State's Attorney James Murphy was placed on paid administrative leave Friday after telling Judge Susana Ortiz that Toledo was holding a gun when police shot him, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"In court last week, an attorney in our office failed to fully present the facts surrounding the death of a 13-year-old boy," a spokeswoman for State's Attorney Kim Foxx said. "We have put that individual on leave and are conducting an internal investigation into the matter."
Murphy's comments were made during a bond hearing for Roman.
"The officer tells [Adam] to drop it as [Adam] turns towards the officer. [Adam] has a gun in his right hand," Murphy told Judge Ortiz. "The officer fires one shot at [Adam], striking him in the chest. The gun that [Adam] was holding landed against the fence a few feet away."
More from the Sun-Times:
On Friday, [Foxx spokeswoman Sarah] Sinovic told the Sun-Times that not all of the footage released the day before was available to Murphy when he read the statement during Ruben's bond hearing, but declined to say what footage was available to the office at that time and who in the state's attorney's office had seen it.
"It's still under investigation what videos were available to [Murphy]," Sinovic said. "We're still trying to figure out what he had access to when he made the statements in court."
Foxx reportedly said in a letter, "For many of you it may have been jarring to see our statement regarding this matter. It is indeed a rarity to see the Office make such a public statement related to the actions of an [assistant state's attorney]. It was not done lightly."
Video footage released Thursday by Chicago officials shows what happened in the final moments of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer responding to a shots fired call last month.
The boy appears to have both hands empty and arms raised in the moment he was hit with a single shot to his chest, but still images show he appears to have been holding a gun just a moment before.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, a police watchdog, released extensive footage along with original documentation to the public. The video showing Toledo's death is extremely graphic and disturbing, and is taken from the body camera of the officer who shot the teen.
At around 2:30 a.m. on March 29, officers responded to a report of eight shots being fired in the Little Village neighborhood, when they encountered Toledo and then-21-year-old Ruben Roman, CBS News reported. Both Toledo and Roman attempted to flee.
In the bodycam footage, Roman is tackled by one officer while another takes chase after the fleeing 13-year-old.
The officer can be seen chasing Toledo down an alley at around 2:30 a.m., yelling to the teen, "Stop! Stop right f***ing now!"
Toledo stops and turns toward the officer, who then yells, "Show me your f***ing hands," then "Drop it!" before firing the shot.
WGN-TV reported video stills of the fast-moving footage shows that the 13-year-old "appears to have dropped a gun and raised his hands just before" he was shot. The outlet shared a video released by Chicago police showing the sequence of events that night in chronological order.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the bodycam video doesn't show Toledo "throwing away the gun, and the boy doesn't appear to be holding a weapon in his raised hands...but another video shows him apparently throwing something through a gap in the fence to the other side — and a video shows an officer discovering a handgun there."
USA Today reported that Toledo "can be seen tossing what appeared to be a gun behind the fence as he slows down, according to surveillance video shot from across a parking lot," and that "the video shows the gun coming to rest on the backside of the fence."
An attorney for the Toledo family emphasized that in the moment the teen was killed, he was complying with police and did not have a weapon in his hands. Adeena Weiss Ortiz called for justice in the officer-involved shooting, saying, "If you're shooting an unarmed child with his hands in the air, it is an assassination."
According to BuzzFeed, the attorney said, ""Adam, during his last seconds of life did not have a gun in his hand. His hands were empty when he was shot in the chest at the hands of the officer. He did not have a gun in his hand, contrary to the reports made earlier today."
She added, "It could be a gun, I'm not going to deny that it could be a gun. It is not relevant because he tossed the gun. If he had a gun, he tossed it. The officer said, 'Show me your hands.' He complied. He turned around."
The Sun-Times reported that the officer involved in the shooting "is a recipient of the superintendent's award of tactical excellence and 47 other commendations, and he has a military background." The outlet noted that it will not release the officer's name because he has not been officially accused of any wrongdoing.