Chicago City Council's Black Caucus Wants Answers In The Anjanette Young Wrong Raid Case
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago City Council's Black aldermen held a news conference Monday saying they want reforms after watching CBS 2's coverage of the Anjanette Young case.
The CBS 2 Investigators have been covering wrong police raids for two years. So where has the City Council been on this persistent problem? CBS 2's Jim Williams had the story Monday.
"Words cannot express the outrage that we the Black residents of the city of Chicago feel," said Ald. Jason Ervin (28th).
They apologized to Anjanette Young.
"We allowed for one African American woman to be humiliated in the public for no reason at all," added Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th).
Days after CBS 2 broke the story that has outraged the nation, the City Council's Black Caucus vowed action to stop the Chicago Police Department's wrong raids.
"We must now more than ever to protect our citizens and our taxpayers," said Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th).
For two years, the CBS 2 investigators have uncovered a series of botched raids. For more than two years, dozens of homes and cops with wrong addresses, guns drawn, breaking down doors, terrorizing innocent Chicagoans -- including children.
Where was the City Council's anger and oversight before CBS 2 uncovered the raid at Anjanette Young's home? The aldermen in the Black Caucus wanted to know that too.
"It's unfortunate that it got to this point. But are now and will do the legislative fixes that need to be done and hold the appropriate parties accountable for their actions and or inactions during this time," said Ervin.
Among the Black Caucus's demands are more civilian oversight of the Police Department, and abolishing search warrants based solely on the word of informants.
"To watch the CBS documentary Unwarranted in case after case of these errors and their impact is heart-wrenching," Ervin said.
The Black Caucus also wants to create a new City Council committee to look at financial settlements in police misconduct cases. But that responsibility already rests with the finance committee.
Last year, taxpayers had to dish out $58 million in those cases.
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