CHI. COP '100% JUSTIFIED'
Split sec in kid slay: police union
The president of the Chicago police union defended the officer who fatally shot a 13year-old boy — saying the cop was “100 percent justified.”
The slain seventh-grader, Adam Toledo, had ditched a firearm just before Chicago Police Officer Eric Stillman shot him early March 29 — leaving the cop “eight-tenths of a second to determine if that weapon was still in his hand or not,” said Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara.
“He was 100 percent right,” Catanzara told the Chicago Sun-Times of Stillman, 34. “The offender still turned with a gun in his hand. This occurred in eight-tenths of a second.”
“There’s no way a rational person can say they can process that and their muscle reaction would be less than one second,” Catanzara added on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time.”
“The officer does not have to wait to be shot at or shot in order to respond and defend himself. There is no obligation whatsoever.”
The union boss’ comments came after the city released an enhanced body-camera recording of the fatal encounter in which the boy is seen holding a gun in his right hand before tossing it in an alley during a police chase.
Seconds later, the video shows the officer yelling, “Drop it! Drop it!” — as Toledo turns around, slowly showing both hands. The officer then fires.
Police have maintained that the shooting was an armed encounter, but prosecutors have walked back their statements that Toledo had a weapon on him at the time of the shooting.
“An attorney who works in this office failed to fully inform himself before speaking in court,” said a representative for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, adding, “The video speaks for itself.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki — asked on Friday to weigh in on the shooting — slammed law enforcement for “too often” using “unnecessary force, too often resulting in the death of black and brown Americans.”
Stillman is on administrative leave for 30 days because of the shooting.
The fatal encounter was the first time Stillman, who joined the force in August 2015, had ever fired his service weapon.
Stillman, a Marine Reserves staff sergeant, reported being involved in several previous uses of force while on police duty between 2017 and 2020.
Three complaints — all regarding searches — have been filed against Stillman with the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
The first case was listed as “unfounded,” the second was closed with “no finding” and the third is pending.
Hours after the shooting video was released, Stillman’s lawyer said it was “amazing and disheartening” that “very few” people had asked how the officer was holding up.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, Stillman’s lawyer wrote, “Specifically, there is very little interest in the wellbeing of the officer and the impact experienced by the officer who was required to use deadly force in the line of duty.
“The officer involved has served his country and his city with honor and deserves our support.”