Anthony Alvarez’s little sister sat under a banner with an image of her late brother and his daughter that read “Justicia Para Anthony Alvarez,” swinging her legs and chanting his name at Federal Plaza on Wednesday evening.
“Say his name!” — “Anthony Alvarez!” his family and a crowd of about 50 supporters chanted, led by Alvarez’s cousin, Roxana Figueroa.
The protest was in response to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s decision Tuesday that no charges would be filed against the officers who killed Alvarez, 22, and 13-year-old Adam Toledo.
Toledo and Alvarez were fatally shot in separate incidents in late March last year in the course of foot chases. Their deaths led to calls for the Chicago Police Department to implement guidelines on foot pursuits.
On Tuesday afternoon, Foxx announced that prosecutors determined both officers reasonably believed they were in danger when they opened fire because Toledo and Alvarez were carrying guns the nights they were shot.
Community members gathered downtown Wednesday at Federal Plaza to respond to Foxx’s announcement. After speeches from organizers, supporters and Figueroa, the group marched up the street to Foxx’s office.
Figueroa said she and her family were disappointed to learn of Foxx’s decision, but they will continue to fight for justice.
She said she tried to put herself in the officers’ shoes and went back to watch the videos of her cousin’s shooting.
“There’s no reason why our family and I should keep rewatching those videos, listening to Anthony’s last words in order to try to understand why Kim Foxx came to that decision,” she said, holding back tears. “There’s no reason why we should keep hearing his last words to understand that.”
Veronica Alvarez, Anthony Alvarez’s mom, said she felt angry and disappointed Tuesday, but seeing how much community support is behind her family made her feel better.
“I feel content for the support and for the people,” she said. “The people that believe in us, the people that are supporting us, the people that believe in justice.”
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Alvarez said her family will continue fighting until Officer Evan Solano is held accountable for shooting her son.
Alvarez’s family filed a lawsuit last month alleging the city bears responsibility for the death in part because police had no foot pursuit policy when he was shot.
On Tuesday, Toledo’s family also filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and against Officer Eric Stillman.