Adam Toledo Murder Updates

Update on the evidence still emerging around the miscommunication surrounding 13 year old Adam Toledo’s death by police.

Lawyers and other court officials are just as complicit in violence and brutality as the police and also need reform and owe reparations to our communities.

An official in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office resigned after an investigation into in-court statements made by a prosecutor suggesting 13-year-old Adam Toledo had a gun when he was killed by Chicago police in March. 

Staff were informed Wednesday that First Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Coleman resigned, spokeswoman Sarah Sinovic confirmed in an email to USA TODAY. The resignation comes after a "breakdown of communication" that led to misleading statements being made in court in early April, according to a report released Wednesday. 

In the report, the office said it had concluded its investigation and found comments made by Assistant State's Attorney James Murphy, though "inartful," were not intended to imply Adam had a gun. 

Murphy was providing facts to support charges against 21-year-old Ruben Roman, who was with Adam when he was shot March 29, during an April 10 bond hearing and only meant to include a "limited description" of what led to Adam's death rather than fully describe the police shooting itself, according to the report. 

An investigation "revealed a breakdown of communication in how information was shared" within the office, and "proper steps were not taken to ensure appropriate language was used," according to the report. 

Murphy's work was not reviewed before the hearing – even though the information presented in court did not align with information provided to the office – and he was not given "sufficient guidance" about what information should have been included in his descriptions, according to the report.

Murphy was placed on leave in April but has since returned to his assignment, the state's attorney's office said in a statement. 

“The officer tells (Adam) to drop it as (Adam) turns towards the officer. (Adam) has a gun in his right hand,” Murphy said during the hearing, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “The officer fires one shot at (Adam), striking him in the chest. The gun that (Adam) was holding landed against the fence a few feet away.”

Body camera footage released in April contradicted Murphy's claim, showing Adam's hands empty in the air when he was shot. The revelation sparked outrage and protests across the city.

"The investigation revealed that the lack of recognition of the critical and urgent nature of this situation hindered the office’s ability to react quickly to understand the circumstances that led to the statements made in court," according to the report.

The office will further train attorneys regarding presenting facts in court and implement policies ensuring "checks and balances," according to the report, which did not name Murphy.

“The tragedy of the death of (a) 13-year old boy has been clouded by the confusion and frustration my office has caused and for this I apologize," State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said in a statement Wednesday. "It’s not lost on me that our community is grieving and I want to assure Adam’s family and the public that my office is working diligently to investigate his death.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/05/05/adam-toledo-statements-made-in-court-prosecutor-resigns/4956012001/