Activists in Chicago are calling for the resignation of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Police Superintendent David Brown following the release of bodycam footage that shows an officer fatally shooting 13-year-old Adam Toledo.
via: Complex
Activists have denounced the way Lightfoot has dealt with the situation this week, including her “slow response to release information, including the officer’s name,” the news outlet writes.
Prior to the body camera video’s arrival, Lightfoot said the Chicago Police Department needs to rethink its foot pursuit policies. “These videos and these moments are never easy to bear witness to,” she said. “Adam’s death is a forceful reminder that we cannot delay these efforts any longer.”
But Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, believes that the city’s police need to be defunded with the money needing to be reinvested in the community.
“The police department has a $1.7 billion budget. They keep taking the money from our kids to give it over to the police department. We’re saying enough is enough,” Enriquez said. “Today, we ask for justice for Adam, justice for all those individuals that are being killed by police officers. It’s a shame that these police officers, instead of protecting us, are killing us. This is how they treat Little Village because we’re Mexican and because we’re Brown.”
He continued, “It is time to defund the police and it’s time to abolish the police. Let’s begin from a fresh start. Let’s begin with our input. Let’s begin with our opinions.”
Protests will continue throughout the week. They also have plans to gather outside of Lightfoot’s home to make their message heard, according to CBS Chicago.
