As Paul Harvey Would Say, “AND NOW FOR THE REST OF THE STORY.”

Pretend, just for a moment, that you are a journalist.

You are given an assignment to document an incident that included the following facts. Chicago Police were dispatched to a location to investigate gunshots that were reported by civilians and gunshot trackers at approximately 2 am. Upon arrival they observed two subjects in a dimly lit alley. They saw that one subject was carrying a handgun. Upon seeing the police both subjects fled. Police pursued on foot. One officer chased after the subject with the firearm and in the course of that foot pursuit yelled more than once for the subject to stop but the subject continued to run. When the armed subject finally stopped running he was near a break in a fence line. The officer was behind him, in an alley, with no cover and limited light. The officer ordered the subject to show his hands and then immediately yelled, “drop it!” In fractions of a second the subject quickly turned to face the officer while raising his, now empty, hands. In that same instant the officer shot the subject. A gun was found behind the fence at the opening where the subject had stopped. The gun had recently been fired. The subject was later identified as a 13-year-old named Adam Toledo. The person he was seen standing with was a middle aged man taken into custody by other officers.

How would you write your article? Would you start by documenting that an armed 13-year-old boy fled from the police and was shot? Would you praise all of the officers who raced towards the gunshots to protect the residents in that neighborhood while their survival instinct was yelling at them to seek cover? Would you list the offenses the 13-year-old could have been charged with, starting with curfew and working through to unlawful use of a weapon? Would you provide cautionary advice to your readers that any shot fired has to land somewhere and it didn’t matter what the 13-year-old and his companion were shooting at, the bullets fired endangered lives? Would you mention in your article that bullets fired from guns held by juveniles are just as deadly as those fired by adults? Would your article cover the fact that the 163 people killed so far this year in Chicago is already 23 more than last years total deaths due to violence? Would your article add that as we approach the middle of the month twenty six people have already been killed?

Maybe you would take the route Jeremy Gorner, Megan Crepeau, Gregory Pratt and Annie Sweeney of the Chicago Tribune took. I found their article on line. The story started with, “It happened in seconds: the pause in a dark Little Village alley, the officer’s shot fired, the 13-year-old crumpling to the ground.”

In the fourth paragraph of the article I read, “Taken altogether, the video appears to show Toledo with a gun that he discards as he turns toward the officer with his empty hands raised.” That actually gives me a different view of the incident than their headline that reads, “In several fateful seconds, video appears to show 13-year-old Adam Toledo toss gun, turn with empty hands raised before Chicago cop fires fatal shot.” Call me a stickler, but I see a big difference in turning “as” you discard a gun and turning after discarding the gun.

Later in the Tribune article they write, “On a frame-by-frame viewing, A PISTOL SHAPED OBJECT appears to be visible in Toledo’s right hand behind his back as he pauses near an opening in a fence and turns his head toward the officer.” I capitalized a pistol shaped object because, in my opinion, it shows how the article is leading the reader. They write emotionally of, “a 13-year-old crumpling to the ground” but they can’t call a pistol a pistol- even though they document that later in the video Toledo is seen throwing that same object behind a fence. Near the end of the article we learn that the video shows a gun at that location before it is over.

It’s no wonder that people are shouting to defund the police! ABC News’ Megan Winsor wrote an article with a slant similar to the Tribune piece I highlighted above. The headline for the article reads “Chicago police fatally shoot 13-year-old boy during ‘armed confrontation'” with armed confrontation in quotes. Then the first sentence reads, “Chicago officials have revealed that the person who was fatally shot by an officer earlier this week during what police described as an “armed confrontation” was a 13-year-old boy.” Again the armed confrontation is in quotes. That, in my opinion, shows a suspicion about the incident being an armed confrontation. That’s not real hard to determine. The 13-year-old was carrying a gun, and he was in a confrontation with the police. (Webster defines Confrontation as:To face, To challenge or To oppose).

If you read only the Main Stream Media (MSM) reports of the incident in Chicago you may not be aware of the facts I have documented above. If you weren’t, I’m glad to be of service. I wrote this to express my frustration about how the police are portrayed by the MSM.

In this particular case I heard that the “victim” was a 13-year-old boy. I did not hear that he was wrong to be out on the streets at 2am. I did not hear how he was illegally possessing a firearm. I did not hear that if he had not run from the police, or if he had dropped the gun when first ordered to he would most probably still be alive. I heard how his mother feels his life was taken. I did not hear how he caused this to happen. If you want to disagree with me on this topic try a new role-play exercise.

Earlier I asked you to be a journalist. Now try being a cop.

You are sent to a shots fired call. You don’t know if someone has been shot. You don’t know if someone was shot at, and you could be racing into the middle of a crossfire situation. You can’t even be sure if it was actually gunshots and not firecrackers or something else less lethal.  You arrive with others and see two subjects, one is carrying a gun. This brings gunshots back to the top of the list. 

As you are processing this information both subjects run. You run after the guy with the gun. As you chase you don’t know if he has just killed someone and will do anything to avoid arrest and life in prison. You yell for him to stop and he continues to run. You yell again and he is still running, this is not a good sign. You have to be ready when he does stop. Is he going to choose to shoot it out with you or comply? So far he has not done anything he is required to do by law. He stops. You order him to show his hands. 

As you yell this order you realize you have no cover. You are a big blue target in the middle of an alley. You see a gun in his hand! You quickly yell drop it and must prepare for the worst! If he has chosen to shoot you, studies have shown, that he will probably kill you because you will have to react to his moves while he only needs to act. He does not drop the gun where you can see it. Instead he swings to face you. His hands are moving. As he spins you lose sight of the gun. You did see his hands coming up. Did you give him too much time? Are you about to feel the pain of a bullet entering your body? You fire your gun, thankful for a moment that he did not get a shot off and kill you. 

Journalists and politicians who were lying in their warm beds while you were protecting their town, their families and their belongings will now attack you with their speeches and written word. 

His hands were empty. In his spinning motion he threw the gun. You now see he’s just a child. You have to live with this. You have shot a child. You call for an ambulance and ask for help. You immediately try CPR. Other officers rush bandages and first aid kits at your request. He’s not responding. 

 At best you will have to live through months of investigations and questioning glances the rest of your career. Maybe your career is over, probably. Maybe you will be charged. 

The last thing you wanted was to hurt anyone. Your prayer, that was answered every day of your career, that you would not have to hurt anyone was not answered today.

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