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Killing of Anthony Alvarez

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On March 31, 2021, Anthony Alvarez, a 22-year-old Latino man, was shot and killed by a Chicago Police Department officer in the Portage Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side of Chicago.[2] Police body camera footage of Alvarez' death was released on April 28, showing Alvarez being shot in the back while fleeing from police with a firearm in his hand.[3] The footage of Alvarez' death was the third high-profile release of footage showing police killing a young Latino in the month of April 2021, following Adam Toledo and Mario Gonzalez.[4][5]

Killing of Anthony Alvarez
Part of United States racial unrest (2020–2023)
Map
Location of the incident in Portage Park.
DateMarch 31, 2021 (2021-03-31)
Time1:00 a.m. CDT[1]
LocationPortage Park, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
TypeShooting
DeathsAnthony Alvarez

People involved

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Anthony Alvarez

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Anthony Alvarez was a 22-year-old Latino man from Chicago. He was a father.[6]

Evan Solano

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Evan Solano also a Latino was identified as the officer who shot Alvarez.[7] He has been an officer for the Chicago Police Department since 2015.[8]

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The Civilian Office of Police Accountability has launched an investigation into the incident. A spokesperson for the organization recommended that Solano should "be relieved of police powers during the pendency of this investigation."[9] The Cook County State's Attorney’s office announced on March 15, 2022 that Solano and his partner “created the conditions" which necessitated the use of deadly force, but that the office would not file charges in the shooting.[10]

Incident

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In body cam footage of Alvarez' death, Solano can be seen pursuing Alvarez on Laramie Avenue,[11] after what Mayor Lightfoot described as a minor traffic violation.[12] At the intersection of Laramie and Eddy, a gun is visible in Alvarez's hand, Solano shouted "Drop the gun! Drop the gun!" before immediately firing five shots in quick succession at Alvarez' back.[13] Alvarez asks "Why are you shooting me?" to which Solano replies "You had a gun."[14][15] Alvarez was later pronounced dead at the hospital.[16]

Reactions

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Family

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Alvarez's father said “I can't believe he is gone. I really miss my son. I just want some answers; why did they do this to Anthony?”[17] At a protest for Alvarez, his aunt stated, "He didn't deserve to get killed this way. What these cops did to him, it's not right. They murdered my nephew. They killed them and they killed a part of me, a part of our family. We’re never going to be the same."[18]

Protests

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On May 1, about a hundred people marched through Portage Park in Chicago from West Irving Park Road and North Central Avenue to the site of Alvarez' death.[19] Alvarez' family was amongst the protestors; his daughter held a sign reading "I miss my daddy."[18] Protestors chanted "Hands up, don’t shoot" and “If Anthony don't get no justice, then they don't get no peace.”[18] Activists stated, "We want that cop charged. We want the police defunded and that money put back into the communities."[19]

Institutions

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In response to Alvarez' death, the ACLU released a statement, saying, "Chicago communities also suffer trauma with each of these releases – especially Latino communities, which once again see how police respond to people from their neighborhoods... Chicago residents deserve meaningful changes to policing. They deserve a new policy on foot pursuits that is informed by community voices and driven by community needs – and one that actually results in changes in how police officers treat human beings."[20]

Public officials

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Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot stated in a press conference prior to the video's release, "We can't live in a world where a minor traffic offense results in someone being shot and killed. That's not acceptable to me, and it shouldn't be acceptable to anyone."[21] Ald. George Cardenas stated, "The guy didn't look like he was a threat to the officer. If he faces the officer with the gun, then maybe that's a reason to kind of react... But if he's not facing you, you've got to give him time to get on his knees, put his hands behind his back. The whole thing was, 'Drop the gun. Drop the gun.' Then, pow, pow, pow... The situation is not good." Cardenas also said that Illinois state law "allows you to carry a gun, so a lot of people are gonna have guns in their hands. That's not a reason to shoot anybody.”[22]

U.S. House Representative Jesús "Chuy" García wrote on twitter, "Whether it's a 13yo or a 22yo, police encounters shouldn't end in death. The killings of Adam Toledo & Anthony Alvarez aren't isolated, rather the tip of an iceberg revealing a system tilted against Black & Brown communities. Whatever the circumstances, the killings must end."[23]

Illinois State Representative Will Guzzardi said, "There's nothing you can do, no record on your background, no affiliations, no history, nothing you can do to deserve being shot in the back while you run. Let me repeat that. There is nothing Anthony could have done to deserve the fate that befell him. This is not an indictment of any bad apples. But rather of the very role that we have given to law enforcement, a role that they didn't ask for and that they don't want, and a role that leads inexorability to the kind of tragedy that we mourn yet again today."[24]

Aftermath

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Foot pursuits

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In the aftermath of both Alvarez' and Toledo's shootings, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said that changes to the city's foot-pursuit policy would be in place by the end of the summer of 2021.[25] The city's practice has been under scrutiny since 2017, when a Department of Justice report called foot pursuits "'inherently dangerous' because officers can experience fatigue or adrenaline, which can compromise their ability to make sound judgments or use less force as the threat diminishes."[26]

The city's police is currently under a federal consent decree, which requires the department to make reforms to its policing practices.[26] In 2020, a civil rights lawsuit forced Chicago to retrain its officers on foot pursuit tactics, but the court-mandated independent monitoring team has warned that officers don't have "the requisite buy-in" on the reforms, because "There is a sense that these concepts go against the culture of the organization."[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ D'Onofrio, Jessica (April 29, 2021). "Family of man, 22, killed in Portage Park Chicago police shooting still have questions after Anthony Alvarez video release". ABC7. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Barrett, Joe (April 28, 2021). "Video of Police Killing of Anthony Alvarez Released by Chicago Officials". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Fernando, Christine; Hauck, Grace (April 28, 2021). "Bodycam video shows Chicago police officer fatally shoot armed man who was running away". USA Today. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Ferdowsi, Samir (April 29, 2021). "Chicago Cops Shoot and Kill Anthony Alvarez 2 Days After Adam Toledo: 'I'm Gonna Die'". Vice News. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Blest, Paul (April 28, 2021). "Police Kneeled on Mario Gonzalez Before He Died, Bodycam Footage Shows". Vice News. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Bosman, Julia; Cooper, Stella; Koettl, Christoph (April 28, 2021). "Chicago Releases Video of Fatal Police Shooting as Mayor Calls for Peace". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  7. ^ Babwin, Don (April 28, 2021). "Chicago man had gun, back turned when police shot him". Associated Press. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "Chicago Police Officer Evan Solano has 11 use of force complaints since 2017". Y! News. April 28, 2021. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Babwin, Don (April 28, 2021). "Video shows Chicago man had gun and his back turned when police shot him". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  10. ^ Crepeau, Megan; Fry, Paige; Casanova, Stephanie (March 15, 2022). "Prosecutors decline to charge Chicago police officers in shootings of Adam Toledo, 13, and Anthony Alvarez, 22". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Kalven, Jamie; Muller, Madison (April 27, 2021). ""Why are you shooting me?" The Family of Anthony Alvarez is Waiting for Answers". The Intercept. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  12. ^ Christen Jones, Zoe (April 29, 2021). "Videos show police fatally shooting Anthony Alvarez in Chicago". CBS News. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  13. ^ Marino, Kate (April 28, 2021). "Video shows Anthony Alvarez appeared to have a gun, back turned when police shot him". Axios. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  14. ^ "Chicago Police Shot Anthony Alvarez Dead as He Was Running Away". Democracy Now!. April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  15. ^ Fitzsimmons, Tim (April 28, 2021). "'Why are you shooting me?': Video shows Chicago police fatally shooting Anthony Alvarez". NBC News. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  16. ^ Knowles, Hannah (April 28, 2021). "Video shows Chicago police killing Anthony Alvarez as he runs away: 'Why are you shooting me?'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  17. ^ Dudek, Mitch (April 29, 2021). "Police bodycam video shows officer shoot Anthony Alvarez as he ran from cops with a gun in his hand". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c Yin, Alice (May 1, 2021). "Family of Anthony Alvarez marches through Portage Park to demand charges in fatal Chicago police shooting: 'He didn't deserve to get killed this way'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Miller, Zack (May 2021). "'We're Not Gonna Let This Family Do This Alone': Chicagoans Mobilize to Demand Justice for Anthony Alvarez". Loyola Phoenix. Loyola University Chicago. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  20. ^ Connell, Colleen (April 28, 2021). "ACLU of Illinois Responds to the Anthony Alvarez Video". ACLU. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  21. ^ Babwin, Don (April 28, 2021). "Video: Chicago man had gun, back turned when police shot him". ABC News. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  22. ^ Spielman, Fran (April 28, 2021). "Some aldermen question fatal police shooting: 'The guy didn't look like he was a threat to the officer'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  23. ^ Garcia, Chuy [@RepChuyGarcia] (April 28, 2021). "Whether it's a 13yo or a 22yo, police encounters shouldn't end in death. The killings of Adam Toledo & Anthony Alvarez aren't isolated, rather the tip of an iceberg revealing a system tilted against Black & Brown communities. Whatever the circumstances, the killings must end" (Tweet). Retrieved May 1, 2021 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Rasper, Ali (April 29, 2021). "Guzzardi asks House to honor Anthony Alvarez, Chicago man shot and killed by police". Heart of Illinois. ABC. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  25. ^ Collman, Ashley (April 30, 2021). "Anthony Alvarez and Adam Toledo were killed being chased by Chicago police — 4 years after the DOJ found that the department's foot chases were leading to too many deaths". Business Insider. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  26. ^ a b c McDonald, Cassidy (May 1, 2021). "Fatal police shootings of Anthony Alvarez and Adam Toledo highlight longtime concerns about Chicago police foot chases". CBS News. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
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