Family of man killed in Chicago police shooting speaks at Loop rally
Roxana Figueroa closed her eyes and tilted her head toward the sky while holding up a black sign that said “#JUSTICEFORANTHONY.”
The 26-year-old had just spoken to a crowd of at least 50 people Saturday afternoon at Federal Plaza about her anguish over the death of her cousin Anthony Alvarez, a 22-year-old man who Chicago police fatally shot during a foot chase early Wednesday. Police said Alvarez was armed with a handgun during a “confrontation” in the Portage Park neighborhood.
Figueroa, who sometimes paused to take deep breaths, said her family believes authorities have ignored their pleas for answers as to why her cousin was killed. She said Alvarez’s mother arrived at the shooting scene later that morning and showed a picture of him to cops, but they told her to leave. A Chicago police spokesperson said he was “not aware of anyone approaching the scene” in that manner and that officers would be “respectful of anyone who approaches with that anguish.”
“I’m supposed to feel protected by you guys,” Figueroa said the mother had pleaded. But she was turned away and did not get confirmation until later in the week that her son was dead, Figueroa said.
“We want answers. We want to know why he was being chased,” Figueroa said. “I’m tired of seeing this not only in my city, in the North Side of Chicago. I’m tired of seeing that everywhere, in the South Side.”
The crowd then chanted, “Say his name! Anthony Alvarez,” as other speakers came up to the microphone stand at the rally, which was organized in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated 53 years ago this Sunday, as well as to honor people killed by police.
Signs that circled the plaza also read, “Justice for Adam Toledo,” the 13-yearold boy who Chicago police shot and killed Monday during an armed confrontation in the Little Village neighborhood.
Police said they began running after Alvarez, of the 5200 block of West Addison Street in Chicago, about 12:15 a.m. Wednesday in the 3500 block of North Laramie Avenue.
“During this pursuit the (person) produced a handgun which led to a confrontation with police” in the 5200 block of West Eddy Street, police said. Police have not said whether Alvarez pointed a gun or fired shots, but a police spokesman has tweeted a photo of a firearm he said was found at the scene.
Alvarez’s father, Oscar Martinez, said he last saw his son about three hours before the shooting when the 22-year-old was showing off a new truck he purchased and made plans for them to grab a meal on Sunday with Alvarez’s 2-year-old daughter.
“I want justice for my son,” Martinez, 42, said. “That’s why I’m here. … I need an answer for my son.”
Alvarez worked full time as a machine operator at a meat factory in Franklin Park, his 30-year-old cousin Gustavo Fuentes said. He added that Alvarez’s life revolved around his daughter, work and soccer.
“He was a person that if you need help, he was there for you,” Fuentes said. “If you needed something, he was there for you. As a young guy about 22, his mentality was about a guy of 30 because he was a professional person and a good father.”
Fuentes said that for Martinez, “it hurts more when they say police killed your son.”