Two Chicago caucus groups have called for a hearing and investigation into the city’s failed attempt to block video footage from a 2019 botched Chicago Police Department raid, where officers stormed the home of Anjanette Young and handcuffed her after she was discovered naked and afraid.
“CBS 2 also found police could have easily tracked the suspect’s location and where he really lived because at the time of the raid, he was wearing an electronic monitoring device.” Good Lord. https://t.co/f1Sejoq4sN
— Good Trouble (@JLBarrow) December 15, 2020
According to CBS 2 Chicago, earlier this week Mayor Lori Lightfoot‘s administration attempted to block the station from airing footage of the raid, further diminishing the eroded trust of Chicagoans in city council leadership and the CPD.
Now the City Council Progressive Caucus and the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus are urging for the Office of the Inspector General to conduct a “thorough examination” of the incident, as well as a probe into why the Civilian Office of Police Accountability took nine months to conduct an investigation. They want the Public Safety Committee and Health and Human Relations Committee to promptly schedule a joint hearing.
The caucuses also asked for a review of CPD policies and the abolishment of no-knock warrants, which they believed played a role.
“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 obtained by CBS 2 Chicago.
The two caucuses reignited the call for a Civilian Oversight Board which would oversee the CPD and COPA to help prevent another case from like this making it so far without accountability.
Young, a social worker, was subjugated to lack of privacy and consent, when CPD officers stormed her apartment under a warrant on Feb. 21, 2019, while they searched for a suspect who lived next door under electronic surveillance with an ankle monitor. Young was handcuffed and forced to stand naked in her living room for at least 40 minutes while she repeatedly told officers they had the wrong location.
“This was so terrifying for me that two years later I’m still dealing with it,” Anjanette Young said. Young is suing the Chicago Police Department and claims she was denied access to the footage for use in her case.
After sidestepping questions regarding Young’s case, pressure mounted for the mayor’s office to respond. On Tuesday Lightfoot denied knowing about the raid or video, but on Wednesday, finally obliged.
“I have been unsparing in my comments to all involved in this colossal mess. Ms. Young’s dignity was taken from her and that’s inexcusable,” Lightfoot said. “I am sorry. What you experienced should never have happened, period.”
SEE ALSO:
Bodycam Video Chicago Tried To Suppress Shows Cops Cuff Naked Black Woman During Botched Home Raid
Remembering The Politics Of Fred Hampton’s Assassination By Chicago Police
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