Chicago’s newly appointed top cop is calling for the firing of an officer who two years ago shot dead an unarmed Latino American boy in the city’s Little Village neighborhood but managed to evade charges due to insufficient evidence.
Graphic body camera video showed Officer Eric Stillman chasing 13-year-old Adam Toledo into an alley before firing a single shot to the boy’s chest on March 29, 2021.
The video sparked protests almost overnight, after Toledo was revealed to have dropped a gun he was carrying shortly before Stillman fired the fatal shot, raising his hands in surrender.
The city’s district attorney’s office would then spend most of the year wondering whether to slap Stillman with a disciplinary hearing, before concluding that there was not enough evidence to charge the officer..
At the time, the department’s superintendent—the only officer with the authority to sign such a hearing—chosen to only slap Tillman with a five-day suspension. More than a year later, his successor says the decision should be reversed.
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Eric Stillman, 36, shot and killed an unarmed Latino boy in the city’s Little Village neighborhood two years ago, but evaded charges due to insufficient evidence
Adam Toledo, 13, died after sustaining the single gunshot wound on March 29, 2021, despite dropping a gun and raising his hands in surrender
“Officer Stillman’s use of deadly force was not necessary to prevent death or grievous bodily harm resulting from an imminent threat to Officer Stillman,” CP Detective Inspector Eric Carter wrote in charges filed Monday with the city’s police department. .
In addition, Carter – who succeeded Superintendent David Brown last month – accused Stillman, 36, of of not using proper de-escalation techniques to “prevent the use of deadly force as a last resort.”
The city’s police board will now hold hearings beginning in May on Stillman’s possible termination.
In the meantime, Stillman – a seven-year veteran who had never used deadly force prior to the shooting — will remain on active duty, as he has for most of the past two years.
In the recommendation, Carter stated that the officer had violated several department policies, including unlawful or unnecessary use of his firearm.
He added that Stillman acted “inconsistently” with his training when he pursued the youngster and failed to alert the Office of Emergency Management, while also neglecting to wait for reinforcements after separating from his partner.
The disciplinary charges provoked an almost immediate response from Stillman’s lawyers, who labeled Toledo’s death a “tragedy” – while also placing the blame not on the officer, but on “the gang violence that is epidemic in our streets.” .
After Stillman’s fatal encounter with Toledo, many thought the teenager had been involved the infamous Latin Kings street gang, which is why he was holding a gun when he was shot.
That said, the department had yet to produce verifiable material evidence to substantiate such claims. Toledo also had no discernible criminal record — a fact his family’s lawyers cited amid calls for Stillman to face the fallout from the shooting.
Graphic body camera video showed the gruesome murder and how the officer chased the teen into an alley before firing a single gunshot to the chest on March 29, 2021
At the time, the department’s then-superintendent, David Brown—the only officer with the authority to sign such a hearing—chose only to slap Tillman with a five-day suspension.
More than a year later, his successor – Superintendent Eric Carter – says the decision should be reversed
“The Cook County Attorney General’s Office investigated this matter and correctly concluded that Agent Stillman’s use of force was appropriate and within Illinois law,” Tim Grace of Chiagao wrote of Carter’s recently filed recommendation.
“There is no reason or justification for the City of Chicago to have requested that this case be terminated,” Grace continued, before pointing out the city’s current crime squalor.
“Members of the Chicago Police Department continue to work in astonishingly difficult conditions, yet come to work every day to protect citizens from the gun-wielding offenders who terrorize our city.”
He added, “The work of the men and women of the Chicago Police Department should not be banned, but should be given the due recognition it deserves.
“We are now entering the next phase of Officer Stillman’s long journey, which is to try to separate him from the Chicago Police Department.”
Full of dramatic language, the lawyer finally concluded: “It’s a sad day not only for the police officers and public safety, but also for all the citizens of Chicago. We look forward to presenting our case to the police council.’
Earlier, when the city’s meager prosecutor was investigating whether to charge the civilian employee, Grace complained how he had seen “very little interest” from the general public in Stillman’s welfare, claiming that his client was traumatized.
“The officer involved has served his country and his city with honor and deserves our support,” he said shortly after the shooting — which came in a crime-ridden year hailed as one of the city’s worst in decades.
Since then, crime – especially shootings – has only gotten worse, with incidents up nearly 50 percent from this time last year and nearly 100 percent up from 2021.
The city’s struggles have damaged the city’s image under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who has sought to defund the city’s police force since taking office in late 2019 before abruptly reversing those plans in August 2021 amid rising crime and mass strikes by the city’s peace officers.
Toledo was carrying a gun in the moments before he was shot, and bodycam footage shows him throwing it behind a fence before turning to Stillman
The officer fired a single shot, hitting Toledo in the chest, after yelling at him to show his hands and “drop it”
Stillman can be seen in bodycam video frantically performing CPR on Toledo after shooting him once in the chest
Amidst that general unrest was a still-active Stillman, who joined the force in 2015 and has since served as a patrol officer in the Ogden precinct on the west side of town.
A month after the shooting, COPA released footage from Stillman’s bodycam showing Toledo was carrying a gun in the moments before he was shot, but dropped it and raised his arms before facing Stillman.
In the footage, Stillman can be heard yelling, “Now stop f***ing!” Show me your goddamn hands! Let drop’. When Toledo turns around, he seems to raise his hands.
Moments later, a single shot rings out and the teen collapses to the ground. Stillman is then heard “shot fired” over the radio as he lays Toledo flat on his back and frantically searches for the wound.
He is heard to say, ‘Stay with me, stay with me’.
Despite efforts to revive Toledo, the teen died from his injury, as seen in the body camera video.
On Monday, his family praised the department’s renewed effort to charge their son’s killer.
“Firing Eric Stillman will not bring our Adam back,” the statement read. “But it will take us one step closer to Justice for Adam.
“This courageous decision will send a much-needed message to the Chicago Police Department…that its officers must respect the sanctity of human life…and strictly follow CPD policies and training while doing their jobs.”
Stillman’s hearing is currently scheduled for May 1. He will remain in service until then.