Family of 13-year-old Adam Toledo files federal lawsuit over fatal 2021 Chicago police shooting

The family of 13-year-old Adam Toledo is taking a new legal route in their fight against the city of Chicago and the police officer who shot and killed him during a foot chase in Little Village in 2021.

More than a month after dropping a wrongful death lawsuit that had been filed in Cook County Circuit Court against the city, the family's attorneys refiled the case in federal court on Thursday.

The federal lawsuit accuses Chicago police officer Eric Stillman of using excessive force when he shot Toledo. The lawsuit also accuses the city of negligence in hiring Stillman, despite knowing about preexisting health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder and hand tremors, which made him unfit for employment as a police officer.

According to the lawsuit, Stillman shot Toledo even after the teen had stopped running and raised his hands in response to Stillman's commands.

A spokeswoman for the city's Law Department declined to comment on the new lawsuit.

Toledo's family dropped their original lawsuit against Stillman and the city in April, as the case was set to go to trial in Cook County Circuit Court.

Stillman shot and killed Toledo on March 29, 2021, after a foot chase in an alley near 24th Street and Sawyer Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood. Body camera video footage showed Stillman shot Toledo less than a second — to be precise, 838 milliseconds — after the teen dropped a gun he had been carrying.

Video footage released weeks after the shooting shows the deadly encounter began as Toledo and 21-year-old Ruben Roman were standing on a street corner when several shots were fired early on the morning of March 29. Both then ran past a church and into a nearby alley. Body camera footage shows Stillman chasing Toledo down the alley, telling the boy to show the officer his hands.

Toledo can then be seen stopping near a gap in the fence in the alley, with both hands at his side, his left shoulder facing the officer. When the video is slowed down, a frame of the footage does appear to show a gun in Toledo's hand just before he raises his arms and the officer opens fire. Surveillance video of the same moment from a different angle appears to show Toledo with his right arm behind the fence, possibly making a throwing motion, and then turning back toward the officer. 

However, at the moment when Stillman opened fire, the body camera video shows Toledo had his hands up, and they appeared to be empty.

The shooting prompted protests over police use of force, and calls for police to stop foot pursuits altogether until the department overhauls its chase policies.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability in 2022 recommended that Stillman be fired. However, then Chicago Police Supt. David Brown did not agree, but instead recommended that Stillman be suspended for no more than five days.

With COPA and CPD at odds over disciplinary action for Stillman, the Chicago Police Board agreed to hold hearings, but that disciplinary case is on hold as the Illinois Supreme Court decides whether officers facing serious misconduct cases have the right to ask an arbitrator to decide their fate, rather than the Police Board.

In 2022, then-Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx declined to charge Stillman with a crime in Toledo's death.

As of April, Stillman was still employed by CPD, but listed as inactive, meaning he is not on the streets and not being paid.