CPD Officers Won't Be Charged In Toledo, Alvarez Shootings: Foxx

CHICAGO ­— Chicago police officers involved in the 2021 fatal shootings of two young people, including a 13-year-old boy, will not face criminal charges, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced on Tuesday.

The announcement comes a year after the high-profile, police-involved shootings claimed the life of 13-year-old Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez, 22, within two days one another.

Toledo was shot and killed by Chicago police in March 2021 following a foot pursuit in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. Alvarez was shot and killed in the Portage Park neighborhod by a CPD officer two days later.

On Tuesday, Foxx called Tuesday’s announcement “somber”.

“There are no winners in this very tragic situation,” Foxx told reporters at a news conference.

She added: “When we look at these cases, we must also look at how the law applies.”

Foxx said that under the law, officers have the right to use force when he ‘reasonably believes” such force is necessary to prevent that officer or others from being injured or killed.

Toledo was killed after he turned toward an officer and appeared to be putting his hands in the air. Body-worn camera footage showed the boy dropped the gun he had been carrying less than a second after an officer told him to drop the gun before he was fatally shot.

Foxx said Tuesday that there is no evidence that CPD officer Eric Stillman acted with criminal intent in the incident. Stillman called 911 and conducted CPR on Toledo while an ambulance was en route.

Attorneys representing the Toledo family said Tuesday that his family will “continue to fight for Adam”. The family has filed a civil lawsuit against Stillman, the attorney said and plans to contact the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in regard to the decision not to seek charges.

“Adam obeyed the police officer’s commands, stopped running and had his hands in the surrender position and was nevertheless shot and killed by Officer Stillman,” the attorneys, Adeena Weiss and Joel Hirschhorn said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Despite the painful loss of Adam, the Toledo family continues to call for peace on the streets of Chicago as they pursue justice through the court system.”

Like with the Toledo case, Foxx said that the officer involved in shooting Alvarez on March 31 did not break the law while believing he was in danger. Foxx said her office initially considered first-or second-degree murder charges against officer Evan Solano.

She said it’s possible Solano violated the police department’s chase policy but did nothing to warrant criminal charges, Foxx said. Alvarez was shot from behind and camera surveillance shows Alvarez with a gun in his possession but does not show him ever pointing the gun at officers.

An attorney for the Alvarez family expressed disappointment in Foxx’s decision not to press criminal charges, NBC Chicago reported on Tuesday.

“Family members are committed in their efforts to bring justice for Anthony, which includes holding the Chicago Police officers involved in the shooting accountable for their actions” the attorney, Tania Dimitrova, said in a statement.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that the deaths of Toledo and Alvarez remain tragic and painful for their families and friends and that the city needs to continue to support the families of the two young men.

Lightfoot said that the city has instituted a new foot pursuit policy for the police following the two shootings and has started working with the Chicago City Council to create the new civilian police oversight committee. But the Mayor said that there "is much more to be done" and that trust has to factor into the equation for a solution.

"Keeping their communities, as well as the rest of Chicago safe remains the top priority for me and my administration," Lightfoot said in a statement. "However, in order to accomplish this, trust must be a two-way street between our residents and our officers."