CHICAGO — Over 1,000 protesters gathered in a municipal park Friday evening in protest and remembrance of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, whose death from a police bullet has sparked a city-wide look at use of force policies and the way officers respond to neighborhood crime.
Spilling onto surrounding streets, some clogged with cars, volunteers passed out homemade masks to protesters. “Justice for Adam Toledo” signs with an illustration of Adam against a backdrop of clouds were posted in windows of several small businesses in the area. Clusters of police on bikes surrounded the outskirts of the protest.
Outcry is growing after a watchdog agency released disturbing video Thursday of a Chicago police officer shooting Adam, who appeared to have his hands up, casting doubt on prior accounts from police and city officials who initially described the incident as an “armed confrontation.”
Protests in Chicago demand police reforms Friday in a march through streets and a city park. Adam Toledo, 13, was shot and killed by police in a case that has sparked public outcry. (Photo: Grace Hauck)
Sandra Nevarez, the mother of Marc Anthony Nevarez, who says her son was killed by Chicago police Oct. 23 last year, spoke at the protest.
“There’s no reason why a mother should be burying her kid,” she said, adding, “There’s should be no reason why I’m going to the cemetery every day. No reason why I don’t have grandkids.”
Roxana Figueroa, the cousin of Anthony Alvarez, 22, fatally shot by Chicago police in a foot chase two days after Adam was killed, said seeing the videos gave her family the strength to demand transparency in their case, too.
A protester in Chicago holds up a drawing showing solidarity and support for Adam Toledo, 13, who died after being shot by police in an alley. A police bodycam video shows Adam had his hands up when he was shot. (Photo: Grace Hauck, USA TODAY)
“When I saw the video, it gave our family hella strength to show up today,” she said, flanked by seven other family members. Three young kids with the family held signs with pictures of them and Anthony.
The demonstration in Logan Square Park was organized by several community organizations, including Únete La Villita, GoodKids MadCity and Chicago Freedom School.
Several hundred people — including families and young children — marched from Logan Square Park to a nearby intersection, chanting “say his name, Adam Toledo.”
Apr 15, 2021; Chicago, IL, USA; Community members react to the release of video footage showing the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a Chicago officer. Toledo was killed in the early-morning hours of March 29, 2021 when police responded to the Little Village neighborhood. Credit: Jessica Koscielniak-USA TODAY (Photo: Jessica Koscielniak, Jessica Koscielniak-USA TODAY)
The crowd took a knee at the intersection and heard from several youth speakers, who called for the abolition of the Chicago Police Department, then observed three minutes of silence — one for each of three people fatally shot by Chicago police, including Adam Toledo — as helicopters hovered above.
“Adam we love you. We will not stop until there is justice for you,” the protesters chanted. “We will fight for justice.”
Anthony Claypool, 43, brought his two five-year-old sons along with him. One of them sat on his shoulders and carried a sign that read “Protect kids! Stop violence!” The other, holding Claypool’s hand, carried a sign with the words “Stop police from hurting people!!!” Claypool said they made the signs themselves but speaking to his young children about the shooting of Adam Toledo wasn’t easy.
“We just told them that it was an injustice and that Adam was hurt really badly. We didn’t go into the finality of it,” he said. “It’s important for us to show our children the reality of the injustice in the world. I want my kids to help promote justice.”
Protesters gather in Chicago to remember Adam Toledo, who died from a police bullet. (Photo: Grace Hauck)
As a father, Claypool said seeing such a young child killed by police was “heartbreaking.”
“I don’t have any words,” he said. “All I can say is thst we need to do everything we can to promote justice and peace for communities of color.”
Among the crowd, “Justice for Adam” signs were pinned on backpacks and the backs of bicycles. Posters of Adam’s face alongside the words “Adam Toledo murdered by CPD” were posted on trees and telephone poles. Some held prayer candles with the phrase “Adam RIP.” Children nearby clutched their parents’ hands and blew bubbles.
Maria Valle Coto, 27, sprawled on the pavement beside her friend, helping her paint “Justicia Para Adam” in red on a poster. Coto lives in Pilsen, not far from where Adam was killed.
Apr 15, 2021; Chicago, IL, USA; Community members react to the release of video footage showing the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by a Chicago officer. Toledo was killed in the early-morning hours of March 29, 2021 when police responded to the Little Village neighborhood. Credit: Jessica Koscielniak-USA TODAY (Photo: Jessica Koscielniak, Jessica Koscielniak-USA TODAY)
“It makes me scared that this could happen to me or someone I love,” she said. “I don’t feel safe anymore. Black and brown people live in fear.”
Coto said justice for her is systemic because “police violence is institutional.” She said justice means defunding the police and funneling its resources into community organizations. She said she hopes people don’t stop with just protest.
“We’re quick to move onto the next tragedy,” she said. “I hope that doesn’t happen this time. I hope there’s change. I hope we invest in our communities.”
Laura Machedo, 25, held a sign with the words “they were all of our sons.” She said it refers to all victims of police violence who were “stolen from their communities.”
“Enough is enough,” she said. “Everyday there’s something new that happened. Im tired.”
The scene at 24th and S. Sawyer in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood Thursday April 15, 2021, where 13-year-old Adam Toledo was fatally shot by a Chicago officer in March. (Photo: Jessica Koscielniak, USA TODAY)
Machedo’s parents live on the same block that Adam did, she said, and the shooting “hit close to home.” Most of all, she said she was angry at allegations that Adam was holding a gun when he was shot when footage of the shooting suggested otherwise.
“They lied,” she said. “It’s proof we need to blame the system, not Adam, not his mother, not his community.”
Virginia Rounds, 45, walked through the crowd, reading signs to her young daughter who couldn’t read yet.
“She’s full of questions,” Rounds said.
“It’s really important for my children to have their eyes open to what is going on,” she said. “Black and brown children don’t get to close their eyes to this injustice, so my white children shouldn’t either.”
Rounds said she also advocates for defunding the police.
“This system is set up to protect the bad apples, to embrace the bad apples,” she said.
Source: Read Full Article