A woman who was handcuffed naked by police who were raiding the wrong house in Chicago is set for $2.9 million (£2.1 million) in compensation.
The city’s council is expected to approve a $2.9 million (around £2.1 million) settlement for social worker Anjanette Young, whose home was entered by police in 2019.
Police arrived Ms Young’s home whilst she was getting ready for bed and handcuffed her whilst she was unclothed.
Young repeatedly told officers that they were at the wrong address, and despite giving he a covering, they refused to let her put on clothes for at least 40 minutes.
The council and the payment
“The city has never disputed Ms Young suffered an indignity” during the raid, city Corporation Counsel Celia Meza told the Finance Committee, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Chicago City Council hoped to reach a settlement agreement after the case caused embarrassed city officials and created a scandal for Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
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Kristen Cabanban, a spokeswoman for the city’s legal department, said Young’s attorney agreed to the settlement.
The $2.9 million (around £2.1 million) recommendation was approved by the Finance Committee unanimously and will be considered by the full council on Wednesday.
Young is expected to received the payment as the council almost always follows the committee’s recommendations.
Mayor Lightfoot
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been criticised for her handling of the incident.
Initially, she claimed she had no knowledge of the raid, however emails later proved staff had made her aware of it.
She faced further backlash when it was revealed that city attorneys tried to get a court order to prevent a local television station from airing video of the raid at Young’s home.
Lightfoot had campaigned for Mayor as a reformer but the case has the hallmarks of one that plagued her predecessor.
Former mayor Rahm Emanuel was criticised for trying to prevent the release of dashcam video of the fatal police shooting of Black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Young vs Chicago City
In a lawsuit filed by Young, she said the city and 12 police officers had failed to verify the place to be searched.
Ms Young had also filed a federal lawsuit, but it was dismissed last year.