City Council Progressive Caucus And Black Caucus Call For Hearings, Inspector General's Investigation Into Wrong Police Raid Where Anjanette Young Was Handcuffed Naked In Her Home
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The City Council Progressive Caucus and the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus called for action Wednesday over the wrong raid in which Anjanette Young was handcuffed naked by Chicago Police officers, and the city's failed legal attempt to stop CBS 2 from airing body cam video of the raid.
The Progressive Caucus called for the city Office of the Inspector General to conduct a "thorough examination" of the incident – including why it took the Civilian Office of Police Accountability nine months to open an investigation, and to figure out whether there were any attempts to thwart transparency.
The Black Caucus also said the Chicago Police Department should abolish the practice of "no knock" and "John Doe" warrants, and for City Council hearings on further CPD policy changes to better protect Black and Brown residents in Chicago. The caucus said the Public Safety Committee and Health and Human Relations Committee will be scheduling a joint hearing on the issue.
"Words cannot express the outrage we as Black residents of the City of Chicago feel upon hearing of another tragic incident suffered by a fellow Black Chicagoan, Anjanette Young, at the hands of the Chicago Police Department. Our deepest and sincerest apologies go out to Ms. Young, as does our pledge to move the City forward towards a more equitable, respectful and responsive Chicago Police Department," the Black Caucus said in a statement.
"This incident occurred. Working to suppress it was not going to change what happened. The public has the right to know. We passed ordinances to prevent exactly this from happening because we wanted these types of videos released in a timely manner," said Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), chairman of the City Council Black Caucus. "For something of this magnitude to that would have this type of impact, someone should have been made aware."
The Progressive Caucus also called for subject-matter hearings in the City Council specifically about the Young case.
"Whether it's how the warrant was issued and executed, why the bodycams were prematurely turned off, and why the Law Department may have fought the release of this video, Chicagoans deserve to know exactly what went wrong here and what city leaders are going to do to fix it," the caucus said in a statement. "Any delay of justice undermines the hard work of the public servants across the city, who now must face deep distrust from some residents. It doesn't just undermine Chicagoans trust with police officers, it undermines trust with all public servants, trust in our very government."
The two caucuses further called for the creation of a Civilian Oversight Board that would have jurisdiction over the Chicago Police Department, COPA, and all other police oversight mechanisms.
"This community body would review incidents like these and be empowered to recommend solutions that ensure this cycle of wrongful treatment ends," the Progressive Caucus said. "There are numerous other substantial policies at our fingertips—warrant-service reform, ending incommunicado detention, and rolling back improper surveillance, to name a few. In countless lawsuits and public hearings, Chicagoans have conveyed heartbreaking stories of being falsely arrested, unjustly labeled or surveilled, and brutally mistreated. So many of those wrongs have yet to be righted."
Young, a social worker, was naked and handcuffed when Chicago Police officers broke down her door and burst into her home on Feb. 21, 2019. CBS 2 first interviewed Young last November.
"Between the inhumane treatment of Ms. Young, the failed No Knock Warrant, officers prematurely turning off their body-worn cameras and questions on transparency, this whole incident was mishandled and never should have happened. We are outraged!" the Progressive Caucus said. "No one should be dehumanized by any public servants, denied access to an attorney, or held in incommunicado detention. This incident further erodes the already tenuous relationship between CPD and people of color across the city."
Young said she wanted the body camera video to show the public what happened to her that day. But when she filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the video last year, the police department denied it. The department also denied a similar FOIA request by CBS 2.
"I feel like they didn't want us to have this video because they knew how bad it was," Young told CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini. "They knew they had done something wrong. They knew that the way they treated me was not right."
Ultimately, a federal court forced CPD to turn over the video as part of her lawsuit against police.
CBS 2 obtained the video, and hours before it aired as part of an investigative report Monday at 10 p.m., city lawyers filed an emergency motion in federal court in a last-minute attempt to stop the story. CBS 2 went with the story and, while the report was being broadcast, a judge denied the city's motion.
Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologized for what happened to Young, and said she was "blindsided" when the city's Law Department went to court to try to block CBS 2 from airing footage of the raid at Young's home.
"Had I been advised that this was in the works, I would have stopped it in its tracks. This is now how we operate, period," she said.
The mayor said she was "completely and totally appalled" by what she saw the video, claiming she was only first made aware of the case and the video on Tuesday.
"All of that is horrifying to me. If you can hear that my voice is hoarse, it is because I have been unsparing in my comments to all involved in this colossal mess," she said.
"Ms. Young's dignity, that she and all of us deserve, was taken from her in those moments, and that is simply inexcusable," the mayor added. "I am sorry. What you experienced should never have happened, period."
The mayor also said Young herself should not be sanctioned for allegedly violating a confidentiality order regarding the video of the raid. Lightfoot said, if a judge determines a court order was violated when the video was released, only her lawyer should face punishment.
Earlier Wednesday, Lightfoot got into a shouting match with a member of the Progressive Caucus during the monthly City Council meeting. Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) brought up the raid at Young's home as aldermen were discussing three unrelated settlements in lawsuits accusing police of misconduct, blasting the Lightfoot administration for trying to block the release of the video.
"I do think it's important that the city recognizes that we have a systemic issue of police brutality. Ms. Young called out the police 43 times; 43 times to denounce that this was an illegal and wrong, mistaken raid in her house," Sigcho-Lopez said.
Lightfoot interrupted the aldermen, ruling he was "out of order" for raising the Young case when it had nothing to do with the settlements up for a vote, but Sigcho-Lopez claimed he was within his rights to discuss the case and the mayor let him finish.
"I hold you accountable, mayor, to have a hearing on the matter in the Public Safety Committee and the Health Committee, because the public deserves an explanation of what happened, and why the Law Department was trying to sue the plaintiff, because she was trying to make this public, as is her right," he said.
The mayor then accused Sigcho-Lopez of getting the facts wrong.
"You do not know the facts, but that does not stop you from making wildly inaccurate comments," she said. "I would appreciate if you and others who have an interest in this – as everyone should, because the images portrayed on that video were upsetting, no question whatsoever – but what I would ask you is to actually get the facts, sir. You have spent a significant amount of your time talking about issues for which you have no facts and that is highly problematic, it is irresponsible, it undermines your fiduciary responsibility not only to the council, but to the larger city of Chicago."
After their angry exchange, the City Council meeting moved on with its regular order of business.
It's unclear when public hearings might be held on the Young case or on possible policy changes at CPD.
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">CBS 2 has uncovered a pattern of police officers raiding wrong homes. Read about it here:</h3>
<a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/63ce5770e1ed43bea99d1d8274b94f91"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-990567" src="https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/i/cbslocal/wp-content/uploads/sites/15116062/2019/10/unwarranted.jpg" alt="" width="420" height="799" /></a>
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