Mayor Lightfoot Takes Action, Investigation Begins Following CBS 2 Probe Into Wrong Raids By Police
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Our CBS 2 Investigators are getting results – the Chicago Police Department is under investigation for officers obtaining bad search warrants and then raiding the homes of innocent families.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has taken action as a result of CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini's yearlong investigation into wrong raids.
We have exposed case after case of young children traumatized by these bad raids. After seeing our findings, Mayor Lightfoot says these wrong raids have to stop.
"Imagine having somebody burst into your house with guns drawn," Lightfoot said. "It's a traumatic experience for those who have been involved in this."
WATCH the full documentary "[un]warranted," with CBS 2's Dave Savini.
The mayor is now taking action.
"We've talked to the superintendent his team about it," she said.
She got involved after seeing what we've exposed - at least 23 children traumatized by bad raids.
Our year-long investigation found officers repeatedly failing to investigate and verify informant tips, and then busting into the wrong homes – mistreating innocent families and children.
One of those children was Peter Mendez. Video shows him just inches from a police gun during a wrong raid on his family's apartment.
"I even tried to shake their hands. Two of them just shrugged by. And then one just shook my hand, because that's the guy that realized they were in the wrong apartment," Peter has told Savini.
When asked how it made him feel when the officers wouldn't shake their hand, "I just felt that they're impolite because you know, I was trying to be nice."
Mayor Lightfoot said, "This is now one of the issues that our chief risk officer is going to be focusing on with the Police Department to make sure that they get it right.
Now under investigation are the CPD's search warrant policies and procedures - how they are getting and executing search warrants.
"What we need to do is actually get it right. We shouldn't be going into the wrong house – period," Lightfoot said. "No one's going to be perfect, but we have a long way to go to make sure that we are getting this right."
Also making sure police get it right is Chicago's Inspector General Joe Ferguson. He launched a full audit of CPD's search warrant system to identify problems leading to these bad raids.