Mayor meets with victim of raid
CHICAGO >> Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot met Thursday with a Black woman who was the victim of a botched police raid on her home during which she was forced to stand naked while handcuffed. In a joint statement released after the meeting, Anjanette Young and Lightfoot said they had a candid and productive meeting.
“We also discussed a number of systemic changes necessary to address the wrongs done not only to
Ms. Young, but also to other victims,” the two said. “We both acknowledge that today’s conversation was but a step toward Ms. Young’s healing.”
During the November 2019 raid on her home, Young wasn’t allowed to put on her clothes before police handcuffed her.
A planned meeting earlier this month between Lightfoot and Young was canceled after Lightfoot said an in-person meeting afterward with dozens of aldermen indoors would violate coronavirus pandemic restrictions and potentially be inconsistent with the Open Meetings Act. Lightfoot on Wednesday released emails showing she was first told in November 2019 of “pretty bad wrongful raid” on the home of a Black woman. Lightfoot wasn’t mayor at the time of the raid.
The more than 150 pages of emails between top city aides clear up the timeline of when Lightfoot found out about the botched raid. Lightfoot initially said she didn’t know about the raid until earlier this month when footage was aired. Later she said staff told her via email, but she did not remember.
Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability is looking into the Police Department’s handling of the raid, but Lightfoot has been critical of the agency for being too slow in completing its investigation. The city’s inspector general is also looking into the incident.