Last year, when Kristian Armendariz heard about the death of Adam Toledo in his Chicago community, he began knocking on doors, trying to rally his neighbors to create change. On Tuesday, one year after Toledo was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer, Armendariz stood with the Toledo family and members of the Little Village Community Council at the same alley where Toledo was shot in a renewed call for justice. “This is not the place where Adam deserved to die, in an alley alone at night at 13 years old,” his sister, Esmerelda Toledo, said tearfully during the vigil, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Toledo was fatally shot by officer Eric Stillman on March 29, 2021. Though Toledo’s hands were raised when he was killed, body camera footage appeared to show the teenager had a gun in his hands moments before.
“He held his hand up and he did what Eric Stillman told him to do, and he still died,” Toledo’s sister said Tuesday. “That is not justice. Adam deserved better than that, and we will not stop until we get justice for him.” Despite outrage over the shooting, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced on March 15 there would be no charges brought against Stillman. Members of the Little Village Community Council said Foxx had promised the community “justice” in a video call shortly after the release of the body camera footage. Council organizer Graciela Garcia said, "Since that meeting, we have not heard a word from her office.” Foxx' office said it had “conducted a thorough review of the shooting of Adam Toledo and found that while Officer Stillman may have violated the [police department] foot chase policies, his actions at the time of the shooting did not rise to the level of criminal charges.”