As Chicago authorities released body camera footage from the officer involved shooting death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, Mayor Lori Lightfoot addressed the fraught situation.
"We don't have enough information to be the judge and jury," Lightfoot noted. She urged "each resident who cares and loves this city" to "wait until we hear all the facts" as Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) investigates the incident that occurred on March 29.
Be advised, the videos released by COPA via the tweet below are extremely graphic.
COPA Releases Video and Other Materials of Fatal Officer Involved Shooting of 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo https://t.co/i82sjFwkN3 pic.twitter.com/O52ujgmGiv
— COPA (@ChicagoCOPA) April 15, 2021
"It was excruciating," an emotional Mayor Lightfoot said when asked for her reaction to viewing the body camera footage. "This is not something you want children to see."
"You're going to see that officer spring into action to try to revive Adam, to call for medical assistance... I've had experience of investigating a number of police involved shootings in my earlier career. I know that most officers go through their whole career and they never fire their weapon in the line of duty. I also know that every time that it's happened, it's extraordinarily traumatizing for them."
"People will have a range of emotions when they see these videos," Lightfoot noted before adding "I hope that people express themselves peacefully."
This footage release comes as Brooklyn Center, Minnesota faces another night of unrest following several nights of riots and looting (watch Julio's frontline footage here) following the officer involved shooting death of Daunte Wright. Body camera footage of that incident was released by city authorities on Monday.
The footage being made public in both Brooklyn Center and Chicago comes against the backdrop of the Derek Chauvin trial which is entering its final stage before deliberations begin next week.
When asked if the mayor had taken steps to prepare Chicago residents for reaction to today's release of body camera footage, Lightfoot noted that the city had already spent months planning for the Chauvin trial verdict while acknowledging "it happens now that these circumstances are sitting next to each other."
Some Twitter users today reported that the bridges across the Chicago River had been raised—something that was done to interrupt the paths of those intending to destroy or loot property in the wake of George Floyd's death last summer—but CBS Chicago debunked those claims.
Chicago River Bridges Have Not Been Raised, Contrary To Some Reports On Twitter https://t.co/bTo2YuJEKt pic.twitter.com/KFWsCi51AF
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) April 15, 2021
"The city is very cognizant of the release of these videos," Mayor Lightfoot noted. "We are prepared."