“MomsRising stands with Adam Toledo’s family in demanding justice. The police officer who killed Adam Toledo, a beloved son, a child who was just 13-years-old, and a student at Gary Elementary School must be arrested and charged for this crime, now. The Chicago Police Department and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot must be held accountable not only for killing this child, but also for covering up the murder for more than two weeks as they refused to release the officer’s body camera video and a false narrative was spread.

“Our nation must end police terror. The continued violence against Black and Brown communities must stop. That the video’s release in Chicago happened during the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, as police officer Kimberly Potter was being charged in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, and as more months tick by without accountability or justice for the police killing of Breonna Taylor underscores the urgent need for change.

“We, and especially our elected leaders, must immediately invest in communities and shift resources away from policing, where a deadly mix of white supremacy and violence remains unchecked. It is clear that the current system cannot be reformed, that additional training resources are not enough, and that body cameras cannot fix an institution founded to enforce the enslavement of Black people.”

-Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO, MomsRising

“We need a radical reimagining of public safety. This must include transformative change, real police accountability, and investments that address the root causes of violence and foster community-based alternatives to policing and incarceration. 

“No family should have to mourn a loss like that of 13-year-old elementary school student Adam Toledo. He was a child, a baby, one of many children killed by police whose families still await justice. Families like that of Aiyana Stanley-Jones who was just seven years old, Tamir Rice who was only 12, Michael Brown who was 18, and Laquan McDonald who was 17. No one should ever be murdered by police, and this rings especially true when we consider children. 

“Only when there is real accountability, when we begin to imagine safety beyond policing, when our resources are used to create the schools, services, and care we all need, will there be real change.

“The moms of America know it’s never okay for police to murder. We demand America’s elected leaders put an end to the days when police can act with impunity, violate rights, and take the lives of Black and Brown people.”

-Statement of Beatriz Beckford, National Director, Youth & Family Justice, MomsRising