Chicago expected to pay Anjanette Young $2.9M over botched police raid
CHICAGO - A Chicago City Council committee on Monday recommended paying $2.9 million to a woman who was handcuffed while naked by police officers during a botched raid of her home in 2019.
Urging the Finance Committee to settle with Anjanette Young, City Hall's top lawyer said jurors at a trial might decide that instead of the proposed $2.9 million, to award perhaps a million dollars for each of the 16 seconds Young stood naked after police mistakenly entered her home.
"And a jury could find that one second was too long. Two seconds was too long. Three seconds, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, of which she stood in a complete state of undress," said Celia Meza of Chicago Corporation Counsel.
On Feb. 19, 2019, police did have a valid search warrant for an illegal firearm. But an informant gave the wrong address. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) has recommended five officers be disciplined, including suspensions and one firing.
Two other investigations have not yet been released, one by the Inspector General and the other by an outside law firm.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot went to court in an unsuccessful bid to block broadcast of the infamous police video. She also claimed falsely to know nothing of the raid.
However, multiple emails later showed the mayor had, in fact, been briefed on it. She praised the proposed settlement on Monday.
"I think that's a good thing for our city. We need to heal from this," Lightfoot said.
Officials say Young and her lawyers have now formally signed off on the proposed $2.9 million settlement; money she’ll get soon after the City Council gives its formal approval, a move that could come as soon as this Wednesday.
The proposed settlement is an effort to make amends for a national embarrassment for the police department and a scandal for Mayor Lightfoot.
Not only did the officers who raided Young’s apartment not let her get dressed, but she was right when she repeatedly told them they were at the wrong address.
The settlement will add to a staggering sum that the city has paid out in police misconduct cases in recent years. According to a 2016 AP analysis, the city had paid about $662 million on the cases since 2004, with the Chicago Tribune reporting in 2019 that the total had climbed to more than $750 million.
Since then, there have been other big payouts, including a settlement of more than $20 million to two men who had their murder convictions overturned after they were allegedly framed by the same detective. And settlements like the one for $1.2 million with the family of a teenager fatally shot by a police officer in 2014 that was announced by attorneys this month have become almost routine.
Associated Press contributed to this report.