Home National Body cam video released after Chicago police shoot and kill man they...

Body cam video released after Chicago police shoot and kill man they say had a gun during foot chase

0
Supporters and relatives of Anthony Alvarez are seen at a news conference. (WLS)

(CNN) — The Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability has released new body cam footage from the March 31 police shooting of 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez during a foot chase.

Police have said Alvarez was armed with a gun at the time.

The Medical Examiner’s Office declared Alvarez’s death a homicide.

CNN is reviewing the footage.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday released a statement with Alvarez’s family, acknowledging the tragedy and calling for peace after the release of video.

Lightfoot urged the public to take the time to look at both the real time and frame by frame footage of the raw video.

“I understand, having investigated many of these shootings, that officers are in many instances called upon to make split second decisions, particularly in instances like this one where there’s a gun,” Lightfoot said. “Nonetheless, a traffic accident, a traffic incident should not result in the death of anyone. So, we have more work to do to be sure.”

She declined to comment on specifics of the investigation.

“I will say this, we can’t live in a world where a minor traffic offense results in someone being shot and killed,” she told reporters. “That’s not acceptable to me and it shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone. And again, the shooting involved a foot chase.”

Lightfoot said she has asked that the police department’s foot pursuit policy be revised.

“It’s one of the most dangerous activities that officers engage in — dangerous for themselves, dangerous for the person being pursued and dangerous for members of the public,” the mayor said. “But it is unacceptable that a minor traffic offense resulted in death.”

The city foot pursuit policy came under scrutiny last month. Police said an officer shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo early on March 29 after the boy was seen holding a handgun at the end of a foot chase.

Police said the gun was later recovered from behind the fence where the chase ended. In video, Toledo is seen turning to his left, toward the officer, and what police said was the gun disappearing behind his right side. Toledo began to raise his hands as he faced the officer when the officer fired his weapon.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.