Protesters took their demands for answers in the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a police officer to the streets of downtown Chicago Friday. NBC 5’s Vi Nguyen reports.
Just hours after Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old Little Village boy who was fatally shot by a police officer was laid to rest, protesters took their demands for answers to the streets of downtown Chicago.
As part of a car caravan protest, approximately 50 vehicles lined up at Saint Agatha Catholic Church in North Lawndale before heading to the city's Gold Coast neighborhood.
"Seeing another family hurt gives us reason to gather," said protester Dulce Rodriguez. "If that’s not enough, I don’t know what is."
Organizers of the evening caravan protest said they hoped to bring more awareness to Toledo's case.
"That’s been our message from the beginning to fight for justice in a peaceful way in a civilized way and not destroy our city," said organizer Baltazar Enriquez.
Toledo, a Gary Elementary School student, was shot during what Chicago police called an "armed confrontation" at 2:36 a.m. on March 29 in the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue. NBC 5 has not independently verified the reports of the incident from police.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown previously said officers responded to that area less than a minute after receiving an alert of eight gunshots.
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"When officers arrived in the 2300 block of South Sawyer they observed two males in a nearby alley. Both males fled," Brown said. "One was armed with a handgun. A foot pursuit ensued, which resulted in a confrontation in the alley."
Brown said the officer fired his weapon at approximately 2:38 a.m., shooting Adam in the chest. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene and a weapon was recovered, he added.
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"Shooting is not an answer," said Ismel Enriquez, who attended the evening protest. "Shooting a 13-year-old is not the answer."
Attorneys representing Toledo's family announced the family will see body camera footage of the shooting next week, however didn't provide a specific date.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the Chicago police oversight agency, said last week that it would release the body camera video after Adam's family was able to see it first.
COPA initially said it would not publicly release body camera video of the shooting, because of state law governing cases involving a juvenile. But the agency reversed course under public pressure and said it would release the "troubling video footage" after Toledo's family was able to review it.
