Family holds protest as CPD officer who shot, killed Anthony Alvarez returns to work

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The family of a man killed by a Chicago police officer protested that officer's return to work as his 20-day suspension ended Wednesday.

Family and friends of Anthony Alvarez have refused to back away quietly. The 22-year-old father was shot and killed in a foot pursuit in Portage Park in March 2021 by Chicago Police Officer Evan Solano.

RELATED| Body camera footage of deadly Chicago police shooting of Anthony Alvarez released

The newly-released videos of Anthony Alvarez's shooting death by Chicago police reveal he was carrying a pistol, but did not appear to point it at police or fire any shots.

But despite a recommendation from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability that officer Solano be fired, Superintendent David Brown and the police board handed down a 20-day suspension.

READ: Chicago Police Board Discipline of Officer Evan Solano

The police board said Officer Solano's decision to shoot Alvarez was "objectively reasonable based on the totality of the circumstances as the officers reasonably perceived them."

Police body camera footage released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability shows Alvarez with what appears to be a gun in his hand before Officer Solano fires.

RELATED | Family holds protest after CPD officer who shot, killed Anthony Alvarez suspended instead of fired

Furious and devastated, an attorney for the Alvarez family called the suspension "not only a gut-punch to the Alvarez family, but it perpetuates the message that encounters with the Chicago Police Department remain potentially lethal."

Now Officer Solano is back on the job, and Anthony Alvarez's family continues their crusade for what they say should be police accountability.