Cook County Attorney James Murphy was placed on administrative leave Friday after he told the court that 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who was killed by a police officer in March, was armed when he was shot. , the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun -Time Report.
Why it’s important: Videos of the shooting show that Toledo dropped what appears to be a weapon and put his hands in the air a moment before he was fatally shot. A Toledo family lawyer said Thursday that if the teen “had a gun, he threw it.”
- “The officer said, ‘Show me your hands.’ He complied. He turned around,” the lawyer added.
Details: At a bond hearing on April 10, Murphy told Judge Susana Ortiz that Toledo did not drop the weapon until after he was shot, according to the Sun-Times.
- “It simply came to our notice then [Adam] drop it like [Adam] he turns to the officer. [Adam] he has a gun in his right hand, “Murphy said.” The officer fired a shot at [Adam], hitting him in the chest. The gun that [Adam] it kept landed against the fence a few meters away ”.
What they say: “In court last week, a lawyer in our office was unable to present the facts about the death of a 13-year-old boy,” Foxx spokeswoman Sarah Sinovic said in a statement, according to the Sun-Times .
- “We have left this individual on leave and we are conducting an internal investigation into the matter.”
- “Reportedly, state attorney Kim Foxx wrote in a letter to prosecutors Friday night” for many of you it may have been disconcerting to see our statement on this matter. “In fact, it is a rarity to see the Office make a public statement related to one’s actions [assistant state’s attorney]. It wasn’t done lightly. “
The big picture: Amid the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, whom advocates have described as one of the most important civil rights cases in decades after Chauvin was charged with murder on the death of George Floyd, police killings of blacks have continued to fuel national protest.
- Protests continued after Kim Potter, a former police officer charged with second-degree homicide in the deadly shooting of Daunte Wright, was released on Wednesday on $ 100,000 bail.