New Executive Order In Effect Giving More Document Access To Victims In Alleged Police Misconduct Cases In Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Sweeping changes in the way Chicago Police execute search warrants are now in effect.
They are a result of CBS 2's years-long investigation into wrong raids by the CPD, including the one two years ago that recently thrust social worker Anjanette Young into the national spotlight.
As CBS 2's Marissa Parra reported Sunday, a new executive order went into effect on Sunday that could be a game-changer for people who say they are victims of police misconduct – days after Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced changes to search warrant policy.
Under this new protocol, the first of its kind in Chicago, victims of alleged police misconduct will be given access to materials quickly without having to navigate the Freedom of Information Act process.
CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini and our team of investigators have documented more than 50 wrong police raids over the past few years. Among them was the case in which Young was handcuffed naked and terrified in her home by a team of officers looking for someone she didn't know, and 8-year-old Royal Wilson getting handcuffed by police acting on a bad tip.
The video of Royal being handcuffed – aired on CBS 2 on Oct. 29, 2019 – took seven months to see the light of day. These new changes mean people like Royal's mother, Domonique Wilson, could see evidence quicker.
Obtaining documents through the Freedom of Information Act, otherwise known as FOIA, is oftentimes a limited and lengthy process that can take weeks, months, and sometimes even longer to get material. Sometimes, those materials are never released at all.
According to the city, victims who file a complaint with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability should now have access to the following within 30 days to initial police reports, case reports, and tactical response reports.
Video and audio from police dash cams and body cams will also be included.
This change comes days after the city announced changes to Chicago Police policy on search warrants.
It took a year for Young to see the video of police wrongly raiding her home.
Domonique Wilson shared the same struggle. It was March of 2019 when police wrongly raided her home too - tearing apart their ceiling and handcuffing family members, including her 8-year-old son.
For seven months, Chicago police refused to release the video. They told us it was due to privacy concerns, but they told the family the task of getting the video would be "unduly burdensome."
"It's burdensome because there's something to hide and something that you don't want to be exposed," Wilson told Savini in 2019.
In theory, reports and videos from police misconduct like wrong raids will be exposed to the family sooner - if such video exists.
Our team has also uncovered instances where officers have killed their body cameras during a raid, or just haven't worn them at all.
This directive goes hand in hand with the changes made recently to the Chicago Police Department's search warrant policies and procedures and is part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's ongoing commitment to increase transparency and accountability in policing.
This does differ from the aAnjanette Young Ordinance proposed by some members of the City Council, which calls for all raids to include a knock, an announcement, and no less than 30 seconds' wait to break down a door, among other things.
After repeated questions to the mayor and the city, what still remains unclear is exactly how officers will be held accountable for misconduct, like wrong raids, going forward.
CBS 2's Meredith Barack contributed to this report.