Yesterday, authorities released body camera video that shows the horrific shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by Chicago Police on March 29 in the Little Village neighborhood. Our hearts goes out to Adam’s family and friends at this difficult time.
According to an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune, Adam was not only a young Latino boy, he also had a disability and was in Special Education classes at school.
We continue to see the lives of people of color being the target of our criminal system. A high proportion of people involved in altercations with law enforcement are people of color; of these, many are also disabled. Adam’s young life was another example of how we must continue to push for change and transparency within the systems that are failing us.
All students of color with disabilities like Adam, deserve safety and full support from our society. We must empower their families with resources so students and families’ voices are meaningfully heard. We must keep working to ensure that our students with disabilities know they are not alone, and that they are welcome and included as one of us in our society.
The release of the video of Adam’s death comes in the wake of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial for killing George Floyd, and after the fatal police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center on Sunday.
Access Living renews our commitment to serving Black and Brown disabled people across Chicago and calls to the City and the Chicago Police Department saying: NOT ONE MORE. We stand with the community groups and leaders who demand stronger police oversight and accountability as well as more funding for community-driven supports and services that actually protect all of our communities of color.