The head of the Chicago Police Union said Thursday that the shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo was “justified” and called the officer’s actions “heroic.”
Statements by Chicago Police Union President John Catanzara came hours after the Chicago Civil Police Liability Office released bodycam images of the March 29 incident.
The images raised questions about whether Toledo actually had a gun in his hand before he was shot, police said. A gun is not clearly seen in Toledo’s hand in the video that was released.
In an appearance on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” Catanzara said the officer’s actions were “100 percent justified.”
“I started my dissertation by saying that it is 100% justified. The actions of this officer were really heroic, “he said.” There is a very good reason why he only fired once. As I said, he could have been shot several times, but the officer was evaluated in a fraction of a second.
“Unfortunately, he already committed to the first shot, justifiably.”
John Catanzara, president of the Chicago Police Union, defends the actions of the officer who fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo. https://t.co/681ELa7SF0 pic.twitter.com/BUuECFsijW
– Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) April 16, 2021
The video released Thursday showed the officer chasing Toledo down an alley as he shouted, “Stop right now” before Toledo stopped in a large wooden fence gap.
Then the officer is heard shouting “show me your hands” and you see Toledo heading towards the officer with both hands raised. The officer yells “drop it” twice before firing once at Toledo in the chest. In the bodycam video there was no clearly visible weapon in his hand.
Agents are then seen helping Toledo.
Catanzara said the officer had less than a second to determine if Toledo had the gun and fired.
“Time-lapse photographs show the officer had 8/10 of a second to determine whether or not that weapon was still in his hands,” Catanzara said. “There’s no way a rational person can say they can process it and their muscle reaction would be less than a second.”
Democratic lawmakers called for justice after the bodycam video was released Thursday.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin He said on Twitter: “Adam Toledo was a seventh-grader at Gary Elementary School in Little Village. His whole life was ahead of him. My heart breaks for his family and friends, who mourn the loss of his young life.
“There are too many black and brown men and women who have lost their lives due to brutal acts of racial injustice,” he continued. “All the evidence shows that we are facing a justice system that is not being applied equally and that we need to change that.”
The incident raises new calls for police reform, as it occurs during the ongoing murder trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of the death of George Floyd that sparked protests across the country l last summer.
It also comes shortly after the high-profile police murder of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, last weekend.