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Tell Mayor Lightfoot: Fire the officers who abused Anjanette Young |
Dear John,
It’s been nearly two years since Chicago Police carried out a baseless warrant on Anjanette Young, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot is just now pushing for entirely hollow accountability measures for the officers involved in the botched raid. Police officers who terrorize Black people should not be placed on paid desk duty. Demand that Mayor Lightfoot fire the people responsible for this unconscionable invasion and launch an investigation into the city’s use of no-knock warrants.
Armed with a warrant granted on faulty information, at least nine Chicago police officers barged into the apartment of social worker Anjanette Young on February 21, 2019. Within seconds of busting open her door, officers handcuffed her, undressed, and did not allow her to put on clothes for nearly half an hour. Ms. Young told the officers 43 times that they were in the wrong place.1 John, 43 times.
Instead of pushing for transparency and accountability, Mayor Lightfoot is overseeing what can only be called a coverup. First, Mayor Lightfoot’s administration fought to hide video of Ms. Young’s abuse.2 Then, we found out that she lied about when she first learned about the raid of Ms. Young’s home.3 Now that she’s been caught in a lie, Mayor Lightfoot is passing the buck to the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) — who admitted in a Chicago City Council meeting yesterday that it takes more than 20 months to carry out an investigation into cases of police misconduct. It shouldn’t take that long for police officers to face consequences for their wrongdoing.
Mayor Lightfoot has a responsibility to Anjanette Young, and all Chicago residents, to fire those responsible for what happened to Ms. Young on February 21, 2019. Instead of holding the police responsible, the officers who harmed Anjanette Young were put on desk duty.4 Police officers who clearly abuse their powers should not receive their full salary while they ride out a yearlong investigation. Tell Mayor Lightfoot that she should fire the people responsible for carrying out the warrant on Anjanette Young and launch an investigation into Chicago’s use of no-knock warrants.
Until justice is real,
Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Erika, Malachi, Megan, Ernie, Madison, Ariel, Ana, Trevor and the rest of the Color Of Change team
Sources:
- "'You Have the Wrong Place:' Body Camera Video Shows ...." Accessed December 16, 2020. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/285930?t=6&akid=48741%2E4731121%2EAXsM3Y.
- "Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration tried to block TV station ...." Accessed December 16, 2020. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/285929?t=8&akid=48741%2E4731121%2EAXsM3Y.
- "Lightfoot Acknowledges She Learned About Wrong Raid Of ...." Accessed December 18, 2020. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/286002?t=10&akid=48741%2E4731121%2EAXsM3Y.
- "Anjanette Young police raid: Cops assigned to desk duty ...." Accessed December 22, 2020. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/286458?t=12&akid=48741%2E4731121%2EAXsM3Y
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