By William Lee
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — Chicago police leaders have stripped an officer of his badge and police powers two months after he fatally shot Anthony Alvarez in the city’s Portage Park neighborhood.
A spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department confirmed Monday that Officer Evan Solano had been stripped of his police powers pending an investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. Solano has been identified as the officer who shot 22-year-old Alvarez, who was carrying a gun during a foot chase.
The move was first reported by WTTW.com.
Alvarez’s shooting death at the hands of Chicago police, coupled with the fatal police shooting of Adam Toledo two days prior sparked community outrage, protests and a call by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to create a police foot-chase policy. A preliminary version of the policy attempting to limit such chases has since been released by CPD.
Alvarez, a machine operator at a suburban meat factory, was shot by Solano on March 31 during an early morning foot chase near Eddy Street and Laramie Avenue. Video footage of the incident released by authorities showed Alvarez holding a gun before he was fatally shot.
Police initially said the shooting occurred during an armed confrontation. “During this pursuit, the (person) produced a handgun which led to a confrontation with police,” police said in a statement released after the shooting.
The video footage showed Solano pursuing Alvarez in an alley before he turned onto a small yard. A shot was fired as Alvarez moved away from the officer, and images from a security camera showed Alvarez drop a pistol as he fell to the ground.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the department waited two months before stripping Solano. The officer also has since been involved in a traffic altercation during which he produced a handgun.
The department referred questions to COPA.
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