On Monday (Dec. 13), a Chicago City Council committee recommended paying $2.9 million to Anjanette Young, a Black woman who was naked and handcuffed during a botched raid in her home back in 2019.
“We all saw that horrific video. We all saw the way in which she was treated. … It’s a good thing that this matter is resolved,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday (Dec. 13). “Assuming City Council approval, this will provide her with a substantial amount of resources. That’s a good thing. It’s a good thing for our city. We need to heal from this and move forward.”
As REVOLT previously reported, Chicago police raided Young’s home as she was undressing in her bedroom from a long day at work. Body camera footage of the incident showed a group of male police officers barging through her front door with a battering ram.
“You see them running up to the apartment complex with the battering ram in their hand,” Young said at the time while looking at the body camera footage after the incident. “… It was so traumatic to hear the way the thing was hitting the door.”
The cops entered her home with their firearms drawn. According to a report, Young told the officers that they were at the wrong address over 40 times and she was left standing there naked for almost 20 seconds. A jacket was then placed around her shoulders and then she was given a blanket. However, it wasn’t until a female officer arrived at the scene that she was allowed to get fully dressed.
Mayor Lightfoot came under scrutiny for the raid after emails proved she lied about not knowing about the incident. Her office also tried to get a court order to prevent a local news station from airing the body cam footage.
In February, Young filed a lawsuit naming 12 officers and the city as defendants. The suit alleged that the cops failed to independently research and confirm the location of the raid.