Chicago Police Killings
On the evening of Tuesday, April 13, 2021 the mother of 13-year-old Adam Toledo did what no parent should have to do, and that as a society has become painfully too frequent.
The Toledo family reviewed bodycam footage of an on-duty Chicago police officer fatally shooting Adam in the chest in the early hours of March 29, 2021 in the Little Village neighborhood. Unfortunately, it is not the only Chicago police-involved shooting targeting Black and brown people amid a global pandemic.
In the same week that Toledo was killed, 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez was fatally shot and killed in Portage Park (April 3, 2021). Before Adam and Anthony, 18-year-old Travon Chadwell was shot at a Home Depot in Brighton Park (March 26, 2021). Before Travon, 25-year-old Marc Nevarez was also shot while running away, dying instantly (October 23, 2020). Before Adam, Anthony, Travon, and Marc, there was 26-year-old Miguel Vega who was shot and later pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital (September 1, 2020).
We cannot let this be our new normal.
Black and brown communities have not had a moment to heal from so many lives cut short due to police interactions. We say their names because the calls for systemic changes to end racist policing and surveillance is where our attention needs to be right now.
According to initial reporting, Chicago police encountered Adam when responding to the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system. This type of surveillance technology permeates Black and Latinx neighborhoods, placing residents in close proximity to police and the inherent danger of getting killed by those who are supposed to serve and protect. Videos like that of Adam Toledo getting killed by police continue to traumatize our communities. There is no space to mourn the people we love while yet another person is murdered.
Today, our solidarity is with Adam Toledo’s family, the community of Little Village, and all those who have died or have been terrorized by state violence. We will continue to support groups working for a world where safety is not an exclusive club for a few, but an open promise to all.
RESOURCES:
Bystander Intervention to Stop Police Sponsored Violence and Anti-Black Racist Harassment training.In response to the continued police violence against Black communities and the recent murders of Daunte Wright, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, Hollaback! is offering a FREE, one-hour, interactive training on how to safely intervene in the face of police violence and anti-Black racism using Hollaback!’s 5D’s bystander intervention. Register
Information on ShotSpotter and other surveillance technology
After the police killing of Adam Toledo in Chicago, the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system deserves serious scrutiny.
