A prosecutor “lied” by stating that 13-year-old Adam Toledo had a gun in his hand when he was shot by Chicago police, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezOn The Money: Weekly unemployment claims drop to lowest level since lockdowns | Retail sales increase in March | Dow, S&P Reaches New Records Ocasio-Cortez Says She Disagrees With Cessation Of Infrastructure Over SALT Democrats Vote For Best Path For Puerto Rico MORE said in a tweet on Thursday.
The New York Democrat said it was not a prosecutor’s mistake, but an untruth. Chicago officials have said the weekend’s comment was a mistake.
“The prosecutor didn’t ‘make a mistake.’ He lied. He lied about the murder of a child by the police,” tweeted Ocasio-Cortez. about admitting and confronting an entire system that exists to protect, defend and cover up state violence. “
The prosecutor did not “make a mistake”. He lied.
He lied about the murder of a child by the police.
Ending this isn’t just about the consequences for who pulls the trigger. It’s about admitting and confronting an entire system that exists to protect, defend and cover up state violence. https://t.co/pKkb8PMchR
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 16, 2021
Chicago was released on Thursday camera images of the body of the March 29 incident, which raised questions about whether Toledo had a gun in his hand before he was shot.
Authorities have said Toledo had a gun in his hand, but the footage doesn’t clearly show one. A prosecutor filed the claim in court this weekend during a bond hearing for 21-year-old Ruben Roman, who fled the police with Toledo on the night he was shot.
The Cook County State Attorney’s office later told The Hill and other news outlets that the prosecutor had not “fully informed before speaking in court.”
“Such mistakes cannot happen and this has been addressed with the person concerned. The video speaks for itself, the office said.
The images show an officer who was identified as Eric Stillman, chase Toledo as he yells “stop right f —— now” before Toledo stops at a hole in a wooden fence. Stillman then asks to see Toledo’s hands, and Toledo slowly turns with both hands up.
A gun was not clearly visible in one of Toledo ‘s hands, but Stillman shouts’ drop it’ twice before firing Toledo once in the chest. When Toledo falls to the ground, there is also no clear weapon on the ground.
Stillman and other officers then rush to lend assistance to Toledo.
The video garnered calls to justice, as it came during the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, resulting in Floyd’s death in May.
It also came as the nation grapples with the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who was fatally gunned down by former officer Kim Potter on Sunday in a suburb of Minneapolis.