CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- After months of controversy over police raids in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown have outlined another major overhaul of Chicago's policies on conducting search warrants.
The new search warrant policy, which is open for public comment Wednesday, is the product of a top-to-bottom review ordered by Superintendent Brown in December, and builds on Mayor Lightfoot’s ongoing efforts to ensure transparency and accountability following the events that took place at Anjanette Young’s home and the city’s subsequent actions.
Video of the mistaken police raid on social worker Anjanette Young's home showed she was left standing naked, handcuffed, and distressed for several minutes. The incident happened in 2019, before Lori Lightfoot became mayor.
“The reforms to CPD’s search warrant policy follow a detailed, comprehensive, and above all transparent process which build upon our ongoing efforts to ensure Chicago’s values of accountability and fundamental human dignity are respected and preserved,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “What Ms. Young experienced served as an abrupt wake up call to our entire city to the reforms our city needs and our values demand. Every step we have taken and we continue to take will be with that goal in mind.”
This new series of reforms to CPD’s search warrant policy represent the second round of policy revisions under Mayor Lightfoot’s leadership. Procedures for obtaining warrants were changed in January 2020, when a lieutenant's approval was required, along with the requirement that body-worn cameras be activated during the execution of search warrants and the requirement of complaint logs following raids at incorrect addresses.
Now the Mayor said the new policy requires a deputy chief to approve any raids - three ranks higher than now mandated. Additionally, a planning session to determine who else might be in a home is required; and Lightfoot said police behavior during a raid must be respectful.
"So all officers are clear, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter who the target of the investigation is, that person and anyone found within the location must be treated with dignity and respect, period," Lightfoot said.
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All “No-Knock” warrants will be banned from use by CPD except in specific cases where lives or safety are in danger. Additionally, these “No-Knock” warrants will now need approval from a bureau chief or higher, and will only be served by SWAT, rather than the team or officer who obtained and sought approval for the warrant.
"Making sure, in fact, that they are very rare circumstances and only used, only used when there is clear evidence of danger to someone's life or safety," Lightfoot said.
In an effort to eliminate the possibilities of “wrong” raids, all warrants, both standard and “No-Knock”, will now require an independent investigation prior to the approval and execution of the warrant that will verify and corroborate that the information used to obtain the warrant is accurate.
Additionally, under the new policy changes, a female officer is now required to be present for the serving of all search warrants; a lieutenant or higher must be present and in command of the scene for the serving of any warrant, as opposed to the previous requirement that a sergeant be present; and in aligning with preexisting policy, officers will also be required to document any and all instances in which a firearm is pointed at any person.
Any search warrant that is served at a wrong address or where the information used to obtain the warrant turns out to be false will be considered a wrong raid. A complaint log number will be required for submitting false reports or for all wrong raids, including those in which search warrant is served at a wrong address or where the information used to obtain the warrant turns out to be false. Additionally, CPD will now conduct a critical incident after-action review for all wrong raids.
CPD is committed to providing members of the community and its officers meaningful opportunities to review, comment, on and provide feedback related to revisions to or newly proposed CPD policies and procedures. In keeping with this goal, the new policy has been posted on CPD’s website and will be available for public review for 15 days. Once the comment period is complete, CPD is committed to reviewing the submitted comments and will identify any concerns that may require further review or be addressed though further revisions to the draft polices.