RSN Fundraising Banner
Chicago Police Chase Down, Shoot, Kill Another Kid With a Gun
Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=53347"><span class="small">Tim Fitzsimons, NBC News</span></a>   
Thursday, 29 April 2021 12:32

Fitzsimons writes: "The Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Wednesday released the body camera video of the fatal police shooting of 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez in March."

Protesters call for justice in the shooting death of Anthony Alvarez outside the headquarters of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Tuesday. (photo: Jose M. Osorio/AP)
Protesters call for justice in the shooting death of Anthony Alvarez outside the headquarters of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Tuesday. (photo: Jose M. Osorio/AP)


Chicago Police Chase Down, Shoot, Kill Another Kid With a Gun

By Tim Fitzsimons, NBC News

29 April 21


Alvarez, 22, was shot and killed by a now-suspended officer with the Chicago Police Department on March 31.


Early reports indicate that the fatal shooting of 22 year old Anthony Alverez by Chicago Police may have begun with a "minor traffic stop." So far CPD has not established probable cause for contacting or attempting to detain Anthony Alverez at all or that he was engaged in any illegal activity that warranted interacting with him. Just the fact that police suspected that he might be carrying a gun is not probable cause. If the policy of the CPD is to chase down and gun down anyone suspected of carrying a gun then that is a policy of extrajudicial execution. In addition such a police policy would reenforce the widely held perception that gunfire on the streets of Chicago is the totality of the law. -- MA/RSN


he Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Wednesday released the body camera video of the fatal police shooting of 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez in March.

In two extremely graphic videos, each more than 12 minutes long, a pair of officers are in a foot pursuit of Alvarez.

Alvarez rounds a corner, pursued by the two officers, when he trips. Seconds later, an officer rounds the same corner and can be heard yelling, “Drop the gun! Drop the gun!” The officer then fires his weapon five times at Alvarez, and Alvarez can be seen on video dropping what appears to be a gun.

Alvarez can be heard saying, "Why are you shooting me?"

The officer responds: "You had a gun!"

In a news release, COPA said the fatal shooting took place near the city's Portage Park neighborhood shortly after midnight March 31. Neither of the officers involved have been identified by police.

Because of "information obtained in the early stages of the investigation," COPA, the civilian led agency that provides oversight for Chicago police, recommended Wednesday that the officer who fired the shots be suspended.

At a news conference Wednesday, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said the officer who fired was put on administrative leave for 30 days.

Brown also said that Alvarez "was armed with a gun."

In its summary of the incident, COPA wrote that CPD "tactical officers attempted to stop and speak with Mr. Anthony Alvarez — an individual familiar to the officers."

"Mr. Alvarez fled as officers approached, leading to a foot pursuit by the officers. During the brief foot pursuit, officers made verbal commands to Mr. Alvarez to drop the weapon. A Chicago Police Officer fired his weapon multiple times, fatally injuring Mr. Alvarez," COPA wrote.

Although police have not detailed why officers first approached Alavarez, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday referenced a "minor traffic offense," NBC Chicago reported.

"I will say this: We can't live in a world where a minor traffic offense results in someone being shot and killed," Lightfoot said. "That's not acceptable to me and it shouldn't be acceptable to anyone."

Alvarez's family first viewed the video Tuesday, telling NBC Chicago it left them with more questions.

"I want more answers. The videos I saw don’t explain what I saw in the morgue," Alvarez's mother, Veronica Alvarez, said through a translator.

"I want to know why they were running after him. To this day I have no answers."

Attorneys for the Alvarez family, in a joint statement with Lightfoot’s office, said the family believes “the release of these videos will be the beginning of a long process of healing for the family, and for all those who knew and loved Anthony.”

“We collectively issue this statement and ask that those who wish to express themselves do so peacefully and with respect for our communities and the residents of Chicago,” the statement said.

The shooting of Alvarez happened just days after an officer with the Chicago Police Department fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo. Police said the teen had a gun in his hand immediately prior to the shooting, although attorneys for the Toledo family dispute he was armed at the moment he was shot.

The COPA released the body-worn camera footage from that fatal police shooting earlier this month.

e-max.it: your social media marketing partner