Killing of Adam Toledo

At approximately 2:38 a.m. on March 29, 2021, Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Mexican American seventh-grader from Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, was shot and killed by Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer Eric Stillman. Toledo was with 21-year-old Ruben Roman when ShotSpotter technology detected gunfire and police responded. Prosecutors alleged Roman had fired shots at a passing vehicle, and that Toledo fled from responding officers into an alley, where Stillman shot him once in the chest after Toledo turned toward the officer.

In the days following the shooting, CPD statements and a Cook County prosecutor's court proffer described the incident as an "armed confrontation," with prosecutor James Murphy stating that Toledo had been holding a gun when shot. This account proved false. On April 15, 2021, the release of Stillman's body camera footage showed Toledo running from the officer, discarding a handgun behind a fence, and then turning toward Stillman with his hands raised and empty in the moment he was shot. CPD stated that only 838 milliseconds elapsed between the gun being visible in Toledo's hand and the shot being fired. Stillman performed CPR after the shooting, but Toledo was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy conducted by the Chicago medical examiner found Toledo died from a single gunshot wound that entered the left side of his chest and exited his back.

The inaccurate proffer led to an internal investigation by the Cook County State's Attorney's office. Prosecutor James Murphy was placed on administrative leave, and First Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Coleman resigned in May 2021 after the office determined she had failed to properly prepare Murphy with updated facts. In March 2022, the Cook County State's Attorney's office announced Stillman would not face criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence. In April 2023, CPD disciplinary charges alleging multiple rule violations were filed against Stillman, with the department recommending his firing; the matter was to be decided by the Chicago Police Board.

Ruben Roman was charged with felony child endangerment, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and reckless discharge of a firearm. He was released on bail on April 19, 2021, after the Chicago Community Bond Fund paid his bond, and was acquitted of the weapons charges in 2022.

The release of the body camera video sparked large protests in Chicago and other U.S. cities, with demonstrators calling for Stillman's arrest and criticizing Mayor Lori Lightfoot's handling of the case. Toledo's death drew national attention and was cited by commentators and officials, including members of Congress, as part of a broader pattern of police violence against Latino and other children of color, occurring during a period of heightened national scrutiny of police killings of unarmed people of color. The case also prompted calls for reform of CPD's foot-pursuit policies and scrutiny of the department's ongoing federal consent decree, though a Department of Justice investigation specific to Toledo's death was never opened.