The Civilian Office of Police Accountability has released body camera recordings of a fatal shooting that took place in Chicago last month. Video shows an officer chasing 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez down an alley and out onto the sidewalk. Throughout the chase, the officer continues to shout commands at Alvarez.
"Drop the gun! Drop the gun," the officer yells.
Shortly after commanding Alvarez to drop his weapon, the officer fired five shots at him as he appears to run away. Alvarez drops to the ground and begins talking to the officer.
"Why are you shooting me?" Alvarez asked.
"You had a gun," the officer replied.
However, there appears to be no gun visible in the video. Tragically, Alvarez was hit and passed away shortly thereafter. In the aftermath of the shooting, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a statement calling for peace.
“Both parties are acutely aware of the range of emotions that will accompany the release of these materials, and 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,” Lightfoot wrote in a statement on Wednesday.
As Lightfoot calls for peace, the city mourns the death of Adam Toledo, who was also killed by Chicago police officers last month. Video shows an officer chasing Toledo and demanding that he surrender before shooting the 13-year-old. At the time the officer fired, Toledo was facing the officer with his hands held up in the air. His death is part of a larger issue in American cities. A recent report from ABC found that police have killed more than 100 people under the age of 18 since 2015. Of those instances, nearly 25% have involved the deaths of kids under the age of 15 years old.
"The youth are scared of our officers, and it shouldn't be like that," Chicago city official Baltazar Enriquez told ABC News.
"Officers should show them that their safety is the No.1 priority and show them that they're not there to kill them, but that they can call 911. Some of them are afraid of calling the police department."
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