Woman whose Chicago home was wrongly raided by police: 'I feared for my life'
The social worker was changing her clothes when police busted into her home.
An investigation has been launched into a raid of a Chicago woman's apartment that resulted in armed police officers drawing their weapons and handcuffing an innocent woman in February 2019.
Anjanette Young, a social worker, was changing her clothes after coming home from work when officers raided her apartment. Chicago police body camera video footage showed officers with their guns drawn and handcuffing her while she was naked. After about two minutes, police covered Young with a blanket.
"I ran into my living room, tried to grab something to cover myself. And before, you know, I could do anything ... the police were in. The room was dark so I could just see lights on, scopes on, guns pointed at me," Young told ABC News' "Good Morning America" on Friday.
"I was scared into compliance," Young said. "I was afraid if I did anything or made any moves that they would shoot me. They had guns pointed at me. I feared for my life that night."
Young said at a press conference Wednesday, "I don't believe it's fair that the city has spent the last two years telling me that they did nothing wrong."
The footage was made public this week. Young's attorney said the city initially tried to block his client from obtaining the video.
"The reason they say they denied the FOIA request is because there was an ongoing investigation," Keenan Saulter, Young's attorney, told Chicago ABC station WLS. "This isn't about a protective order. This is about a cover-up."
On Thursday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown apologized during a press conference and promised change.
"I have an obligation to make that wrong right," Lightfoot said. It's been painful, painful and upsetting."
Brown said the Chicago Police Department will review its policies on warrants in January to include a revision that if the wrong home is raided, there will be a claim notification to create a record of what happened during the event.
"No-knock warrants will only be approved if there is a danger to life and safety that has been articulated clearly," Brown said. "We need to ensure that this never happens again with reformed policies, procedures and accountability."
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability in Chicago said it has been investigating Young's incident for about a year, WLS reported. The mayor has ordered a full release of all body camera video from that night and is asking for state lawmakers to look into how body camera video is governed in Chicago.
Saulter said they will pursue legal action and file a suit against both the city and the Chicago Police Department in the coming days.
Young told "GMA" that she can relate to Breonna Taylor, who was shot dead by police in her Louisville home in March as officers tried to execute a search warrant.
"My incident happened before hers, so when it happened to her, I cried for days," she told "GMA."
"It shouldn't happen to me, it shouldn't happen to Breonna Taylor, it shouldn't happen to anybody and at the hands of the police officers," Young told reporters.