Chicago woman handcuffed naked during botched police raid set to receive $2.9M settlement

Anjanette Young, the Black woman who was handcuffed naked by Chicago police during a botched raid in 2019, is set to receive a $2.9 million settlement after she filed a lawsuit against the city and multiple police officers over the incident.

According to NBC News, the settlement will be voted on by the Chicago City Council. Young had just returned from her shift as a social worker at a hospital in February 2019 when police broke down her door. Young was naked at the time of the raid, and she was handcuffed in that state. A teary Young told the officers they got the wrong home, but she was still held in the handcuffs, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability stated in a report.

The settlement was unanimously approved by the City Council’s Finance Committee on Monday, per the Chicago Tribune. It will subsequently be voted on when it’s presented on the full council’s agenda on Wednesday.

Responding to the settlement at an unrelated news conference on Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she was “comfortable” with it. “I think it’s a good thing this matter is resolved,” she added.

Officers raided Young’s apartment in 2019 after Officer Alain Aporongao used an anonymous tip to obtain a search warrant. The report stated that the informant told Aporongao an acquaintance brandished an unauthorized weapon at a residence, NBC News reported.

The person of interest in the case had a prior arrest record and a home address that was on the other side of the street from Young’s residence. The report stated that though Aporongao had the details of the suspect’s address, the officer “disregarded all of this information and instead relied exclusively on J. Doe’s statements.”

The police accountability office said Young did not have any connection with the suspect, and her home wasn’t also connected to any illegal activity.

Per the footage of nine body cameras, a group of male officers reportedly barged into Young’s home after breaking her door with a battering ram, Face2Face Africa reported. Young, who was naked at the time of the raid, asked the officers for their warrant. The officers, however, disregarded her request and proceeded to ask her about the suspect. Young told the officers she had no idea of who they were talking about, the report stated.

And though the officers established the suspect wasn’t in the home and had no affiliation with Young’s address a minute after the raid, the police accountability office stated that Young was still held in handcuffs for around 17 minutes.

The report established that the actions of multiple officers connected to the botched raid contravened “applicable laws and policies.” The report also recommended a number of disciplinary actions against the officers.