The killing of a 13-year-old teenager identified as Adam Toledo has led to a massive uproar in Chicago. Till now, the protests have been peaceful but given the experience of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests turning into riots last year, there are credible apprehensions of serious unrest. Meanwhile, the liberal American media is outraging again and leftist extremists are once again pushing their agenda to defund the police.
Yet, the liberal media is not revealing full facts. It is more concerned with lamenting how Sean Hannity described Adam Toledo as a “13-year-old man”. Yet, the media fails to mention three crucial facts:
- Toledo was running away with a known felon, who wasn’t underage.
- Toledo was carrying a firearm.
- Even though Toledo was shot by the police, the police tried to save him by giving him chest compressions. But he couldn’t be saved.
Now, Eric Stillman, the concerned police officer who allegedly shot Adam Toledo in the chest in Chicago is being depicted as a ‘white supremacist’ who committed a hate crime. Yet, the real situation is very different and scarcely sounds like a hate crime.
As per the police footage of the entire incident, Stillman pulled up to the location of the incident after the police department’s ShotSpotter technology detected the sounds of eight gunshots from the Little Village neighbourhood on March 29. The police officer immediately encountered two men, one of whom appears to be Toledo. Both of them were running away from the area.
Stillman’s bodycam footage shows that he forced the other person, identified as 21-year old Ruben Roman to the ground. Footage further reveals that Toledo kept running away, so Stillman pursued him.
Notably, Toledo seems to be carrying a gun in his hand while being pursued by Stillman. It is being reported that the 13-year old teenager dropped the gun while turning back towards Stillman and he also appears to have his hands up when he is shot in the chest by the police officer chasing him. Officers on the spot performed chest compressions while waiting for the ambulance but to no avail.
So, did Stillman intentionally shoot Toledo? This is the big question. It is true that Toledo was most probably empty-handed when Stillman shot him.
But the question is not whether Toledo was empty-handed, rather it is whether Stillman could have reasonably foreseen a threat to his own life or limb? You can decide for yourself but do remember that it was 2:30 in the night, Stillman was giving the chase down an alley and there was only a split-second time gap between Toledo’s likely act of throwing the firearm and turning back towards the cop.
Stillman’s attorney Tim Grace said that Stillman was forced to make a “split-second decision” and that his actions were “consistent with the Chicago Police general orders, use-of-force guidelines and with the law.”
Grace also said that the deceased boy was holding the gun when he started turning towards Stillman. The attorney added, “At this point, this officer has no cover, no concealment.” This gives a true perspective of the incident from Stillman’s point of view.
It is very easy for the liberal media to generate outrage out of the incident. But an assessment of the true facts certainly tells a different story.
