RESOLUTION CALLING FOR IMMEDIATE CHANGE IN PROTOCOL FOR THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT'S EXECUTION OF SEARCH WARRANTS. ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS POLICIES. AND GENERAL ORDERS
WHEREAS, at 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2019, officers of the Chicago Police Department, brandishing guns and shouting, staged a raid to execute a search warrant at the residence of Anjanette Young, a licensed clinical social worker; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Young, who had completely undressed after returning from her work, was handcuffed and questioned naked and in full view of the nine officers who were equipped with body cameras that were recording the raid. After approximately two minutes, one of the officers found a small jacket, and subsequently a quilt, that allowed her exposed body to be covered while her hands were handcuffed behind her back. After more than 40 minutes, a sergeant apologized to Ms. Young and uncuffed her while an officer unsuccessfully tried to fix the lock on the door the police smashed to gain entrance; and
WHEREAS, it eventually came to light that the complaint requesting a search warrant was filed just one day before the raid. A confidential informant had identified a 23-year-old man who was a known felon living at that address, whom he had recently observed in possession of a gun and ammunition. Although the police apparently did not make an independent verification of the information provided by the informant through the conduct of surveillance or any other additional checks as required by department policy, the warrant was still granted by an assistant state's attorney and a judge; and
WHEREAS, subsequently, it was learned that the informant gave police the wrong address. The suspect for which the police were searching actually lived in the unit next door to Young at the time of the raid and had no connection to her at all; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Young filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the footage from the nine officer's body cameras, but was denied. She eventually filed a federal lawsuit against the city and, during the discovery process, attorneys for the city were forced to turn over the video footage to Young and her lawyers but with a protective order added that prevented it from being shared with anyone else; and
WHEREAS, CBS Channel 2 News has been reporting extensively on botched search warrant raids in recent years and, on December 17, 2020, aired a redacted portion ofthe body camera footage taken during the raid on Ms. Young's home. Just hours before it was set to air, the City of Chicago corporation council filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent the video from being broadcast, but the motion was denied; and
WHEREAS, on December 22, 2020, a joint meeting of Health and Human Services Committee and Public Safety Committee meets to deliberate what immediate action must be taken to prevent such occurrences in the future and call on the members of the Chicago Police Department who oversaw this raid, Acting Corporation Counsel, COPA Administrator, Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety, Cook County States' Attorney, and the Chief Judge ofthe Circuit Court of Cook County, to provide testimony concerning
the reformation ofthe Chicago Police Department's policy on executing search warrants; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned members of the City of Chicago City Council, do hereby urge this joint committee, in light of these egregious actions, to take such measures and promulgate such ordinances as is necessary to ensure the future safety of their constituents and the sanctity of their domiciles which include but are not limited to the following:
Abolishing the practice of issuing warrants based solely upon the use of paid informants.
Keeping a database of reliability of sources used for search warrants, to see patterns of erroneous information.
A standardized process for search warrant applications, States Attorney review, judicial sign off, and post execution results.
• ^ Changing the City's policy on the release of video footage. As under current rules,
the release of video for this type of incident is NOT to be released, per the policy; and this must change.
Passage of Civilian Oversight measures for the Chicago Police Department
Question the actions and/or inactions of the City of Chicago employees including the COPA Administrator, CPD Chains of Command, members of the Law Department; and also review the roles of the Cook County States' Attorney and members of the Judiciary. This must be answered with the appropriate individuals held accountable.
Call on the Inspector General to conduct a complete investigation of this incident.
The establishment of a City Council Committee on Litigation Review and Risk Management to provide oversight and review of our Risk Management, Litigation Strategy, and Settlement practices.
SUBMITTED BY: CHICAGO ALDERMANIC BLACK CAUCUS
ALD. JASON C. ERVIN - CHAIR, ALD. STEPHANIE D. COLEMAN - VICE CHAIR, ALD. MICHAEL SCOTT, JR. - SECRETARY, ALD. GREGORY I. MITCHELL -TREASURER, ALD. PAT DOWELL - MEMBER, ALD. SOPHIA D. KING - MEMBER, ALD LESLIE A. HAIRSTON - MEMBER, ALD. RODERICK T. SAWYER - MEMBER, ALD. MICHELLE A. HARRIS - MEMBER, ALD. ANTHONY BEALE - MEMBER, ALD. DAVID H. MOORE - MEMBER, ALD. DERRICK G. CURTIS - MEMBER, ALD. JANETTE B. TAYLOR - MEMBER, ALD. HOWARD B. BROOKINS, JR. - MEMBER, ALD. WALTER BURNETT, JR. - MEMBER, ALD. CHRIS TALIAFERRO - MEMBER, ALD. CARRIE M. AUSTIN - MEMBER, ALD. EMMA MITTS - MEMBER, ALD. MATTHEW J. MARTIN - MEMBER, ALD. MARIA E. HADDEN - MEMBER