A Chicago prosecutor was placed on paid leave Friday because he did not say in a statement that Adam Toledo, 13, dropped the gun he was holding before being shot by a Chicago police officer. Cook County Attorney’s Office announced.
” A lawyer in our office did not fully present the facts regarding the death of a 13-year-old boy in court last week, ” State Attorney Kim Foxx’s spokeswoman Sarah Sinovic said on Saturday. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, she was referring to a trial on April 10.
“We have placed that individual on leave and are conducting an internal investigation into the matter,” Sinovic continued.
The assistant’s attorney, James Murphy, said during a bond trial for Ruben Roman, 21, who was allegedly with Toledo the night he was killed, that when Toledo turned “to the officer” , he has a ‘gun in his right hand’.
‘Officer fires one shot [Toledo], hit him in the chest. The gun that [Toledo] land against the fence a few meters further, ‘Murphy told the judge.
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On the camera footage of the shooting on Thursday, March 29, it appears that Toledo dropped the gun he was holding before being shot by the officer.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Foxx’s office Murphy’s statement partially backed down Thursday, less than an hour before the body’s footage was released. Her office did not elaborate on why it took five days to make the clarification.
Murphy is accused by Foxx’s office of “not fully informing himself” about the camera recording before speaking in court.
“Such mistakes can not happen and the individual addressed it. The video speaks for itself,” Sinovic said.
A prosecutor who wished to remain anonymous said there was a perception in the office that Murphy was “being thrown under the bus”, the Sun-Times reported.
Sinovic said Foxx’s office is investigating what videos of the shooting were available to Murphy before speaking during the mortgage hearing.
Foxx said in an internal memo Friday night that Murphy’s statement “does not reflect all the evidence presented to our office.”
It was unclear whether a superior approved Murphy’s statement.
“For many of you, it may have been frightening to see our statement on this matter. It is indeed a rarity to see the office make such a public statement regarding the actions of [assistant state’s attorney], “Foxx wrote.” This was not done lightly. “
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Sinovic said Murphy is not accused of ‘lying’, but the office is concerned that his statement could be ‘misinterpreted’ when Toledo dropped the gun.