The Chicago police oversight agency says it found “significant deficiencies” while reviewing a raid on the home of Anjanette Young, who was forced to stand naked as an all-male team of cops raided the wrong home in 2019.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability did not publicly detail those deficiencies. They are included in a report submitted to Chicago Police Supt. David Brown, who now has 30 days to decide whether to bring administrative charges against officers mentioned in the report.
Although COPA’s report was not made public, the agency said it found problems with department policy and training on search warrants. COPA said it will release the report’s findings after Brown’s review.
COPA’s report is one of three investigations into the Feb. 21, 2019 raid that was captured on bodycam video — footage the city’s Law Department tried to keep from being publicly released.
Young was in her Near West Side home that evening when several CPD officers came in, announcing the raid. Young was undressed and getting ready for bed, and was forced to remain naked in front of the officers as the 40-minute ordeal unfolded.
Young was handcuffed for nearly 10minutes before she was allowed to dress, and then was handcuffed again, COPA said. Young was handcuffed for a total of nearly 17 minutes.
“The raid of Ms. Young’s home was truly painful to watch,” COPA Chief Administrator Sydney Roberts said in a statement. Roberts said the case was significant enough that COPA assigned a “uniquely constructed 10-member team to evaluate the critical Fourth Amendment issues raised in this complaint.”
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The investigation involved nearly 100 allegations of misconduct stemming from actions of more than a dozen officers, according to COPA. The agency said it conducted more than 30 interviews with officers, civilians, a member of the judiciary, an assistant state’s attorney and the Cook County sheriff’s department.
Over the course of the investigation, COPA said it sent three letters to the Chicago Police Department highlighting concerns about its Fourth Amendment training and search warrant policies, which have since been revised.
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COPA said its recommendations would “clarify standards of officer conduct” and increase accountability.
“While we cannot fully heal the pain Ms. Young experienced on that day and ever since, we hope that our investigation and recommendations will enable the healing process,” Roberts said.
