The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said it will release video and other materials related to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on Thursday.
“COPA has remained sensitive to the family’s grief and is carrying out this release in accordance with the City’s Video Release Policy,” Ephraim Eaddy, spokesman for COPA, said in a statement. “COPA’s core values of integrity and transparency are essential to building public trust, particularly in incidents related to an officer involved shooting, and we are unwavering in our commitment to uphold these values.”
The materials will include footage from body-worn cameras, third-party video, transmissions from the Office of Emergency Management & Communications, SpotShotter recordings and case incident reports.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she has seen “multiple videos” of the fatal shooting of Toledo by Chicago police on March 29, but won’t talk about what she saw in them.
Asked about the video at an unrelated event in Jackson Park, Lightfoot refused to describe what she saw or the conclusions she drew from that viewing, for fear of compromising ongoing investigations by the COPA and the Cook County State’s attorney’s office.
The mayor would only reiterate what the Toledo family said after its own private showing on Tuesday: that public release of the shooting videos would be delayed out of deference to the family.
“This is a difficult set of circumstances. First and foremost, we have a family that is still incredibly in the throes of grief. A mom and father who have lost their son, siblings who have lost their brother. Grandparents. I want to be respectful of the family,” the mayor said after joining Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Jackson Park to announce the start of “pre-construction” work tied to the Obama Presidential Center.
Also Wednesday, Adam’s family issued another statement showing support for recent peaceful protests over the March 29 killing and calling for future protests to remain nonviolent as well.
“We appreciate the community support and are grateful that events so far have remained peaceful,” the statement said Wednesday. “We have heard reports in the media that more protests are planned today, and while we have no direct knowledge of such events, we pray that for the sake of our city, people remain peaceful to honor Adam’s memory and work constructively to promote reform.”
Tuesday, after that viewing at the COPA offices, Toledo family attorneys had said it was an “extremely difficult and heartbreaking” experience for everyone in the room.
COPA has said it is honoring the Toledo family’s request not to release the body camera video to the public immediately but says it is mandated to do so eventually.
The mayor, meanwhile, said Wednesday that with “something like a police-involved shooting, particularly under these circumstances, it’s important for us to be transparent. We tried to be as transparent as we can and we’re gonna work with the family to move this process along. But I think we have to be respectful of them and move at their speed. And that’s what we’re attempting to do in balancing a range of different issues.”
The mayor was asked whether the delay has anything to do with any Chicago protests and unrest that may be triggered by a verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial in Minnesota for the murder of George Floyd.
“That’s really not part of the calculus at all,” the mayor said. “This is about being respectful and balancing the need for transparency with this grieving family that’s having an extraordinarily difficult time.”
