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El año pasado, cuando Kristian Armendáriz se enteró de la muerte de Adam Toledo en su comunidad, comenzó a tocar puertas, tratando de reunir a sus vecinos de La Villita para crear un cambio.
El martes, un año después de que un oficial de policía de Chicago le disparara fatalmente a Toledo, Armendáriz se reunió con la familia Toledo y otros miembros de su grupo en el callejón donde le dispararon a Toledo en un renovado llamado a la justicia.
“Este no es el lugar donde Adam merecía morir, en un callejón solo en la noche a los 13 años”, dijo entre lágrimas su hermana, Esmeralda Toledo, durante la vigilia del martes.
El oficial Eric Stillman le disparó fatalmente a Toledo el 29 de marzo de 2021. Aunque las manos de Toledo estaban levantadas cuando lo mataron, las imágenes de la cámara corporal publicadas en abril parecían mostrar que el adolescente tenía un arma en sus manos momentos antes.
“Levantó la mano e hizo lo que Eric Stillman le dijo que hiciera, y aun así murió”, dijo la hermana de Toledo el martes. “Eso no es justicia. Adam se merecía algo mejor que eso, y no nos detendremos hasta que obtengamos justicia para él”.
A pesar de la indignación que provocó el tiroteo, la Fiscal Estatal del Condado de Cook, Kim Foxx, anunció el 15 de marzo que no se presentarían cargos contra Stillman.
Pero según los miembros del Consejo Comunitario de La Villita el martes, Foxx le había prometido a la comunidad “justicia” en una videollamada poco después de la publicación de las imágenes de la cámara corporal.
“Kim Foxx se reunió con nosotros, nos prometió justicia”, dijo Graciela García, organizadora principal del Little Village Community Council. “Ella nos prometió un cambio. Ella nos prometió construir comunidad. Y desde esa reunión, no hemos escuchado una palabra de su oficina”.
Family members and supporters of the Toledo family release balloons during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of 13-year-old Adam Toledo being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Elizabeth Toledo hugs a supporter during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of her son, 13-year-old Adam Toledo, being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Flanked by family members and supporters, Esmeralda Toledo, 25, speaks during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of her brother, 13-year-old Adam Toledo, being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Elizabeth Toledo cries during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of her son, 13-year-old Adam Toledo, being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Flanked by family members and supporters, Elizabeth Toledo (center) participates in a prayer on the one-year anniversary of her son, 13-year-old Adam Toledo, being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Family members and supporters of the Toledo family pray during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of 13-year-old Adam Toledo being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Family members and supporters of the Toledo family gather for a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of 13-year-old Adam Toledo being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Kristian Armendariz, of the Little Village Community Council, speaks during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of 13-year-old Adam Toledo being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
On the one-year anniversary of the shooting, Elizabeth Toledo stands with family members and supporters as she looks at the spot where her 13-year-old son, Adam Toledo, was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Flanked by family members and supporters, Elizabeth Toledo (left) looks on during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of her son, 13-year-old Adam Toledo, being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Flanked by family members and supporters, Lucy Garcia speaks during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of her nephew, 13-year-old Adam Toledo, being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Elizabeth Toledo hugs a supporter during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of her son, 13-year-old Adam Toledo, being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Graciela Garcia, of the Little Village Community Council, speaks during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of 13-year-old Adam Toledo being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Elizabeth Toledo looks on as Graciela Garcia, of the Little Village Community Council, speaks during a vigil and news conference on the one-year anniversary of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, Elizabeth Toledo’s son, being fatally shot by a Chicago police officer during a foot pursuit in an alley west of the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on the Southwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 2022.
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Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Armendáriz dijo que el anuncio de Foxx sobre la falta de cargos contra Stillman, al mismo tiempo en el cual no anunció ninguno contra el oficial Evan Solano, quien mató a Anthony Alvarez, de 22 años, a tiros en Portage Park dos días después de la muerte de Toledo, le faltó el respeto a él y a su comunidad.
“[Foxx] nos dijo que quería buscar justicia en nombre de la comunidad de La Villita”, dijo Armendáriz. “Cuando combinó dos tiroteos fatales en un solo comunicado de prensa, como si los jóvenes latinos no le importaran, solo somos estadísticas. Así es como ella nos hizo ver.”
En un comunicado enviado el martes al Sun-Times, la Oficina de la Fiscal Estatal dijo que “realizó una revisión exhaustiva del tiroteo de Adam Toledo y descubrió que aunque el oficial Stillman pudo haber violado las políticas de persecución a pie de CPD, sus acciones en el momento del tiroteo no alcanzaron el nivel de cargos criminales”.
Aún así, Armendáriz dijo que la comunidad no se rendirá. “La justicia que estamos buscando en este momento es que Eric Stillman sea procesado por homicidio involuntario y que muestre un mensaje a todos los funcionarios electos de la ciudad… vamos a responsabilizarlos”.
Además de eso, Armendáriz dijo que el grupo quiere ver una política de persecución a pie más eficiente.
La política instruye a los oficiales a abstenerse de perseguir a los sospechosos involucrados en delitos menores de Clase A, a menos que exista una amenaza para el público. El Departamento de Policía de Chicago adoptó la política en marzo pasado luego de una recomendación del Equipo de Monitoreo Independiente que supervisa el cumplimiento de un decreto de consentimiento federal.
En lo que se publicaba una nueva versión de la política a principios de febrero, el período para comentarios públicos se cerró y la política ahora se finalizará entre el Equipo de Monitoreo Independiente y CPD.
Pero Armendáriz dijo que, para empezar, la política era defectuosa y los funcionarios se apresuraron a publicarla tras los dos tiroteos.
“No es transparente”, dijo. “Nada ha cambiado.”
Cheyanne M. Daniels es reportera del Chicago Sun-Times por medio de Report for America, un programa de periodismo sin fines de lucro que tiene como objetivo reforzar la cobertura del periódico de las comunidades en los lados sur y oeste.
