Chicago City Wire

A Chicago writer and blogger has raised concerns over activists, city leaders, and even the Chicago media's "spin" on the deadly officer-involved shooting that killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo.  

Martin Preib, a member of the Chicago Police Department and writer for the Chicago Contrarian, believes the "three-headed monster" will have to work hard to twist what happened to fall into their "anti-police movement" narrative since, given the known evidence, the shooting was likely legitimate. 

Preib even noted that Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D-Chicago) did not emphasize the officer's conduct or blame the officer right away in her press conference earlier in April.

"As mounting evidence shows that the shooting was justified, Lightfoot harped about developing a foot-pursuit policy, a sign that she was giving the media and activists (not to be redundant) something, anything, to amplify their attacks on the Chicago Police Department," Preib wrote in the Chicago Contrarian. 

Preib called such a move to "toss any public servant under the bus" typical for Lightfoot. 

Days after the shooting, Ruben Roman, Jr., the adult who was with Toledo on the morning of the shooting and was arrested, had his charges upgraded. Prosecutors accused Roman of giving the gun to Toledo after Roman allegedly shot at passing cars, which is what sent police to the area.

Preib said the local media's activism was also revealed after the shooting. He specifically pointed to a column in the Chicago Tribune by Eric Zorn who argued the public should wait to hear all the facts before casting judgment on the officer, an opinion he apologized for shortly after.