Agency releases report detailing findings of probe into Chicago officer's fatal shooting of Anthony Alvarez

CHICAGO — The Civilian Office of Police Accountability has released its summary report that details findings and recommendations in the investigation of the 2021 fatal shooting of Anthony Alvarez by a Chicago police officer.

Alvarez, 22, was shot by Officer Evan Solano after a foot chase in Portage Park. In July, Police Board member Steven Block reviewed COPA’s investigation and denied its recommendation to fire Solano. He had sided with police Superintendent David Brown’s recommendation for a 20-day suspension for Solano instead.

Andrea Kersten, COPA’s chief administrator, had expressed her disappointment in Block’s decision and said she stood by COPA’s investigation and findings.

At the time of the Police Board meeting, the summary report was not publicly available. The 46-page report was made available on COPA’s website Wednesday.

Alvarez was shot while moving away from Solano, who was pursuing him and yelling at him to “drop the gun,” a video of the shooting released last year showed. Solano fired shots, and footage shows Alvarez drop a pistol as he fell to the ground. He was shot in the back and thigh, an autopsy later revealed.

COPA found that Solano and his partner, Officer Sammy Encarnacion, had both failed to timely activate their body-worn cameras, failed to fully load their firearm in violation of department policy and that Solano’s use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable because Alvarez did not pose an imminent threat, according to the report.

Solano said he believed that Alvarez was going to shoot because he had twice looked over his right shoulder toward Solano and was starting to turn toward him, the report said. Solano also said he couldn’t see the firearm because it was tucked in Alvarez’s stomach.

In video from Solano’s body-worn camera and a front-door camera, Alvarez did change his direction slightly just before being shot but the firearm was not pointed or moving toward Solano, the report said.

Block came to a different conclusion, though, when reviewing the facts of the case. Block noted that about two seconds passed between the time Solano first had a glimpse of Alvarez’s gun to the moment the first shot was fired, which meant he had little time to assess and react to Alvarez’s movements.

Block also disagreed with COPA’s finding that Solano failed to use de-escalation techniques. He wrote that Solano used “continual communication” and told him, “Hey! Drop the gun! Drop the gun!” before firing his weapon.

Giselle Higuera, the mother of Alvarez’s now 3-year-old child, said she was reading through the COPA report Thursday and that it gave her hope because it had seemed like everyone else sided with the officer.

“How do you pursue somebody and then shoot five shots? With this, it does give me hope that people see that this was wrong,” she said. “I have hope that my daughter will grow up and say that her father got justice and hopefully this statement helps us in the future for the lawsuit.”

Alvarez’s family filed a lawsuit in February alleging the city bears responsibility for his death partly because the Chicago Police Department did not have a policy on foot pursuits at the time. The family’s lawsuit states that Alvarez did not threaten the officers or anyone else, and that police had no valid reason to stop him or chase him that night.

Both Solano and Encarnacion remain on administrative status, according to a Chicago police spokesperson.

Alvarez’s death came just days after another Chicago police officer fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo during a foot chase. The two shootings sparked protests and prompted the city to implement a policy on foot pursuits. In April 2021, COPA recommended to Chicago police officials that Solano be relieved of his police powers during its investigation, an action that would require the officer to forfeit his badge and gun for work purposes while assigned to paid desk duty. He was stripped of his police powers in June 2021. In January, COPA concluded its investigation of the Alvarez shooting.

In March, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced her office would not bring criminal charges against the officers involved in the Alvarez and Toledo shootings. Foxx said at a news conference that prosecutors determined both officers reasonably believed they were in danger when they opened fire. Both Toledo and Alvarez were carrying guns on the nights they were shot.

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