Killing of Anthony Alvarez

Anthony Alvarez was a 22-year-old Latino man from Chicago. He was a father.{{cite news |last1=Bosman |first1=Julia |last2=Cooper |first2=Stella |last3=Koettl |first3=Christoph |title=Chicago Releases Video of Fatal Police Shooting as Mayor Calls for Peace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/us/chicago-police-shooting-anthony-alvarez.html |website=The New York Times |date=April 28, 2021 |access-date=1 May 2021}}

Evan Solano also a Latino was identified as the officer who shot Alvarez.{{cite web |last1=Babwin |first1=Don |title=Chicago man had gun, back turned when police shot him |url=https://apnews.com/article/us-news-lori-lightfoot-chicago-shootings-police-140bfb602e124ca64644737df17edba8 |website=Associated Press |date=April 28, 2021 |access-date=1 May 2021}} He has been an officer for the Chicago Police Department since 2015.{{cite web |title=Chicago Police Officer Evan Solano has 11 use of force complaints since 2017 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/chicago-police-officer-evan-solano-235155517.html |date=April 28, 2021 |website=Y! News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430213540/https://news.yahoo.com/chicago-police-officer-evan-solano-235155517.html |access-date=1 May 2021|archive-date=April 30, 2021 }}

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."{{cite web |last1=Babwin |first1=Don |title=Video shows Chicago man had gun and his back turned when police shot him |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-04-28/video-chicago-man-anthony-alvarez-had-gun-back-turned-when-police-shot-him |website=Los Angeles Times |date=April 28, 2021 |access-date=1 May 2021}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Crepeau |first1=Megan |last2=Fry |first2=Paige |last3=Casanova |first3=Stephanie |title=Prosecutors decline to charge Chicago police officers in shootings of Adam Toledo, 13, and Anthony Alvarez, 22 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-adam-toledo-anthony-alvarez-police-shooting-charges-20220315-j4lhq6rrhzdthiprogassm7xxu-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune |date=March 15, 2022 |access-date=22 April 2022}}

In body cam footage of Alvarez' death, Solano can be seen pursuing Alvarez on Laramie Avenue,{{cite web |last1=Kalven |first1=Jamie |author1-link=Jamie Kalven |last2=Muller |first2=Madison |title="Why are you shooting me?" The Family of Anthony Alvarez is Waiting for Answers|url=https://theintercept.com/2021/04/27/anthony-alvarez-chicago-police-shooting-video/ |date=April 27, 2021 |website=The Intercept |access-date=1 May 2021}} after what Mayor Lightfoot described as a minor traffic violation.{{cite web |last1=Christen Jones |first1=Zoe |title=Videos show police fatally shooting Anthony Alvarez in Chicago |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anthony-alvarez-body-cam-footage/ |date=April 29, 2021 |website=CBS News |access-date=1 May 2021}} On the sidewalk of Laramie and Eddy, Solano sees a gun in Alvarez's hand, Solano shouted "Drop the gun! Drop the gun!" before immediately firing five shots in quick succession at Alvarez' back.{{cite web |last1=Marino |first1=Kate |title=Video shows Anthony Alvarez appeared to have a gun, back turned when police shot him |url=https://www.axios.com/anthony-alvarez-chicago-gun-police-shot-e912f73f-f76e-49db-8112-24c0795e2db7.html |website=Axios |date=April 28, 2021 |access-date=1 May 2021}} Alvarez final words are "Why are you shooting me?" to which Solano replies "You had a gun."{{cite web |title=Chicago Police Shot Anthony Alvarez Dead as He Was Running Away |date=April 29, 2021 |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2021/4/29/headlines/video_chicago_police_shot_anthony_alvarez_dead_as_he_was_running_away |website=Democracy Now! |access-date=1 May 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Fitzsimmons |first1=Tim |title='Why are you shooting me?': Video shows Chicago police fatally shooting Anthony Alvarez |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/why-are-you-shooting-me-video-shows-chicago-police-fatally-n1265682 |date=April 28, 2021 |website=NBC News |access-date=1 May 2021}} Alvarez was later pronounced dead at the hospital.{{cite news |last1=Knowles |first1=Hannah |title=Video shows Chicago police killing Anthony Alvarez as he runs away: 'Why are you shooting me?' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/28/anthony-alvarez-shooting-video/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501133106/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/28/anthony-alvarez-shooting-video/ |access-date=1 May 2021 |url-status=live |date=April 28, 2021 |archive-date=May 1, 2021 }}

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?”{{cite web |last1=Dudek |first1=Mitch |title=Police bodycam video shows officer shoot Anthony Alvarez as he ran from cops with a gun in his hand |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2021/4/28/22407717/anthony-alvarez-chicago-police-shooting-bodycam-video-released-lightfoot-family-call-peace |website=Chicago Sun-Times |date=April 29, 2021 |access-date=1 May 2021}} 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 him and they killed a part of me, a part of our family. We’re never going to be the same."{{cite web |last1=Yin |first1=Alice |title=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' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-anthony-alvarez-portage-park-protest-family-20210501-2u6u6tzd7ndytar7x6pez3u2tm-story.html |date=May 1, 2021 |website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=2 May 2021}}

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.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Zack |title='We're Not Gonna Let This Family Do This Alone': Chicagoans Mobilize to Demand Justice for Anthony Alvarez |url=http://loyolaphoenix.com/2021/05/were-not-gonna-let-this-family-do-this-alone-chicagoans-mobilize-to-demand-justice-for-anthony-alvarez/ |website=Loyola Phoenix |date=May 2021 |publisher=Loyola University Chicago |access-date=2 May 2021 |archive-date=May 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502145337/http://loyolaphoenix.com/2021/05/were-not-gonna-let-this-family-do-this-alone-chicagoans-mobilize-to-demand-justice-for-anthony-alvarez/ |url-status=dead }} Alvarez' family was amongst the protestors; his daughter held a sign reading "I miss my daddy." Protestors chanted "Hands up, don’t shoot" and “If Anthony don't get no justice, then they don't get no peace.” Activists stated, "We want that cop charged. We want the police defunded and that money put back into the communities."

In response to Alvarez' death, the ACLU released a statement, saying, "Chicago communities also suffer trauma with each of these releases{{snd}}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{{snd}}and one that actually results in changes in how police officers treat human beings."{{cite web |last1=Connell |first1=Colleen |title=ACLU of Illinois Responds to the Anthony Alvarez Video |url=https://www.aclu-il.org/en/news/aclu-illinois-responds-anthony-alvarez-video |website=ACLU |date=April 28, 2021 |access-date=2 May 2021}}

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."{{cite web |last1=Babwin |first1=Don |title=Video: Chicago man had gun, back turned when police shot him |date=April 28, 2021 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/chicago-braces-release-police-shooting-video-77368885 |website=ABC News |access-date=1 May 2021}} 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.”{{cite web |last1=Spielman |first1=Fran |title=Some aldermen question fatal police shooting: 'The guy didn't look like he was a threat to the officer' |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2021/4/28/22408305/anthony-alvarez-police-shooting-chicago-city-council-aldermen-hispanic-caucus-copa-video |website=Chicago Sun-Times |date=April 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430210437/https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2021/4/28/22408305/anthony-alvarez-police-shooting-chicago-city-council-aldermen-hispanic-caucus-copa-video |access-date=2 May 2021|archive-date=April 30, 2021 }}

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."{{cite tweet |title=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. |user=RepChuyGarcia |number=1387462835157012487 |first=Chuy |last=Garcia |authorlink=Jesús "Chuy" García |date=April 28, 2021 |access-date=1 May 2021}}

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."{{cite news |date=April 29, 2021 |last1=Rasper |first1=Ali |title=Guzzardi asks House to honor Anthony Alvarez, Chicago man shot and killed by police |url=https://hoiabc.com/2021/04/29/guzzardi-asks-house-to-honor-anthony-alvarez-chicago-man-shot-and-killed-by-police/ |website=Heart of Illinois |publisher=ABC |access-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502145336/https://hoiabc.com/2021/04/29/guzzardi-asks-house-to-honor-anthony-alvarez-chicago-man-shot-and-killed-by-police/ |archive-date=2 May 2021 |url-status=dead}}

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.{{cite web |last1=Collman |first1=Ashley |title=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 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/anthony-alvarez-adam-toledo-doj-2017-slammed-chicago-pd-foot-chases-2021-4 |date=April 30, 2021 |website=Business Insider |access-date=1 May 2021}} 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."{{cite web |last1=McDonald |first1=Cassidy |title=Fatal police shootings of Anthony Alvarez and Adam Toledo highlight longtime concerns about Chicago police foot chases |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chicago-police-foot-chase-policy-anthony-alvarez-adam-toledo/ |date=May 1, 2021 |website=CBS News |access-date=2 May 2021}}

The city's police is currently under a federal consent decree, which requires the department to make reforms to its policing practices. 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."

• List of homicides in Illinois
• Lists of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States
• Police violence against Mexican Americans

{{reflist}}

• [https://vimeo.com/542258713 Body camera footage] posted by COPA, via Vimeo
• [http://chicagopoliceconsentdecree.org Chicago Police Consent Decree], per Illinois Attorney General

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