CPD Officer Could Face Firing In Fatal Shooting Of Adam Toledo

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department officer who shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo during a foot chase last year faces an upcoming disciplinary hearing that could lead to his termination, an investigator from a police disciplinary board determined on Thursday night.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) board had previously determined that officer Eric Stillman violated CPD policy when he shot the teenager in a Chicago alley in March 2021. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown had previously contested the findings of the disciplinary board and said that Stillman’s actions did not break use-of-force rules put in place by police officials.

However, on Thursday night, COPA Board President Ghian Foreman announced that after reviewing the case, the matter will go before the entire police board, which could decide to fire Stillman.

Foreman issued a written statement stating that the parties involved and the public will benefit from a full evidentiary hearing, which will allow board members to hear from use of force experts and to review video footage of the incident.

Foreman said that Brown did not meet the burden of proof in overruling the COPA board’s decision that the full board should review Stillman’s actions and make a ruling on his future with the department.

The disciplinary hearing is not expected to take place for several months.

Stillman fatally shot Toledo in an alley in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on March 29, 2021. Video shows that after ordering the teen to drop his gun, Stillman shot the boy in the chest after Adam Toledo had dropped the gun and put his hands in the air.

In the days and weeks following the incident, several groups called for Stillman to be fired or charged criminally. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced last year that neither Stillman nor another CPD officer who shot a 22-year-old man two days later would be charged by her office, saying "there are no winners" in the tragic situations involving the two officer-involved shootings.

The COPA Board initially ruled that Stillman should be fired, deciding that the officer had acted “inconsistently” with the department’s foot chase policy and had improperly committed the use of deadly force in the incident.

Supt. Brown disagreed and only said that Stillman had violated department policy by not turning on his body-worn camera during the foot chase. Brown announced that he believed that the officer should be suspended, but for not longer than five days.

Now, the eight-member panel will hear the evidence and will determine whether Stillman will be permitted to continue working within the department.

“The Cook County state’s attorney’s office investigated this case and correctly concluded that the use of force by Officer Stillman was proper and consistent with Illinois law,” Stillman’s attorney, Tim Grace, said in a statement issued after Thursday’s decision.

“The members of the Chicago Police Department are asked to work under amazingly difficult circumstances, yet still come to work each day to protect the citizens from the gun-wielding offenders who terrorize our City. Adam Toledo’s death is a tragedy, but a tragedy that was caused by the gang he chose to associate with. His death was due to that association, not by the actions of Officer Stillman.”

COPA chief administrator Andrea Kersten said in a statement, "As I’ve said before, this is not about winning or losing, but about facts, evidence, and testimony being presented before the full police board before a final decision is determined.

"Impacted parties and the residents of the city of Chicago deserve to have all the facts and evidence presented in a full, public hearing, and we believe this case is deserving of a full evidentiary hearing before the entire police board and a review of the rules governing this process is warranted."

The attorneys representing Adam Toledo’s family said that they are grateful for Foreman’s decision that overruled Brown’s decision that Stillman should not be punished beyond a short suspension.

They also said the family is grateful to the COPA board for “uncovering the truth of what transpired that fateful evening.”

The attorney representing the family had previously stated that Stillman acted improperly when she shot the boy after Adam Toledo had complied with his order to drop the gun.

"If you're shooting an unarmed child with his hands in the air, it is an assassination," attorney Adeena Weiss Ortiz said during a news conference in the days following the shooting.