The president of the Chicago police union believes the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo was completely justified. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, John Catanzara, Fraternal Order of Police president, said, “He was 100 percent right. The offender still turned with a gun in his hand. This occurred in eight-tenths of a second.”
On Thursday (April 15), Catanzara made an appearance on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time” and doubled down on his statements and even said that the “officer’s actions were actually heroic.”
“Time-lapse video shows that that officer had eight-tenths of a second to determine if that weapon was still in his hand or not. Period,” he said.
“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. “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.”
On Thursday (April 15), body cam footage, along with several third-party surveillance videos, of the fatal police shooting of the young boy was released to the public. In the clip, the officer is seen approaching the end of an alley. He yelled, “Police, stop. Stop right fucking now,” as Toledo paused near a fence and immediately put his hands up.
The officer then said, “Hey, show me your fucking hands. Drop it,” as he opened fire on the young boy — less than 20 seconds after exiting his patrol car. Toledo fell to the ground and the cop called for medical assistance. He then walked up to him and asked if he was alright and inquired about where he had been shot.
Police previously said they found a firearm at the scene of the shooting, which they claim Toledo was holding when he was shot. However, the body cam video does not show any weapon in his hands, refuting claims that he shot at the officers.