Thread by @BLMChi

BREAKING: Alderman Anthony Beale and Alderman Lopez proposes an order to immediately cease all no knock warrants. #EndRaids

City Council is breaking for five minutes while the chairman researchers procedure.

Alderwoman @RossanaFor33 is questioning the legitimacy of asking the law department for process clarity since they are directly implicated in the cover up of the attack in #AnjanetteYoung .

The law department says that today’s hearing does not allow for a vote. Alderman Beale is requesting independent counsel provide an opinion. Watch live: chicityclerk.com

The proposed order by Alderman Beale and Lopez institutes a 12 month moratorium and creation of a commission to report on all practices and to determine whether to discontinue no knock warrants, amend to federal standards which limit times CPD can raid. #EndRaids

Chairman Roderick Sawyer rejects the motion to address the proposal. Alderman Lopez is appealing the rejection and calls for a roll call vote. #EndRaids

City council is now arguing over knock vs no knock warrants and whether or not Anjanette Young had a no knock warrant. This is distraction and irrelevant. #EndRaids

They need to focus on CPD tactics--not overly technical intrepretations of what the warrant authorizes. #EndRaids

City Council voted and the Chairperson’s rejection stands, meaning the proposed order by Alders Beale and Lopez will not be included for discussion during today’s hearing. Now Chairman Taliaferro, a former cop, is leading the hearing discussion. #EndRaids #F12

In part why the argument of knock vs no knock is irrelevant is that the language in the warrant authorizes no knock tactics. Thereby rendering technical definitions of whether it was technically a no knock irrelevant. The raid itself was wrong. Period. #EndRaids

A representative from the Office of Inspector General, Deborah Witzburg who serves as Associate General Counsel, is now speaking to “bad” search warrants. #EndRaids

Superintendent Brown is now reading a PR created piece about CPD being committed to protecting the sanctity of life and that he has been loved by Black women... These prewritten statements are drafted by their public relations teams in effort to damage control. #EndRaids

This is distraction.

Superintendent says it is time to ban no knock warrants unless to save someone’s life. Again, technically #AnjanetteYoung’s raid was not “no knock”. The demand is to end ALL home raids, knock and no knock. #EndRaids

It is also important to not qualify the use of raids by saying a raid is acceptable if a persons life is in danger as CPD routinely uses this as reason to shoot and kill people by arguing that their own lives were in danger. #EndRaids

Natasha Cuyler Toller, assistant state’s attorney, is now explaining the process by which the State’s Attorneys office authorized search warrants. This reveals the multiple levels of City government that are involved in criminalization. #EndRaids

A COPA representative is now speaking as the chief administrative officer, Sydney Roberts and will provide update on the status of their investigation which is now 2 years old and includes the fact that they have not completed interviews of all of the cops involved. #EndRaids

Correction: It took COPA 9 months to open an investigation into the attack against #AnjanetteYoung therefore it has been 13 months since the investigation began, not two years.

As a reminder, Lori was the president of the police board and worked with COPA’s predecessor, IPRA, who notoriously failed to fire Dante Servin, the cop who killed Rekia Boyd, among other decisions to not hold CPD accountable. #EndRaids

The ecosystem by which the criminalization of Black, brown and poor people occurs and the corresponding impunity and cover up of CPD reveals an intricate system of multi departmental and municipal operations. #EndRaids

Alderman Matt Martin is now speaking about the problematic nature of CPD as an institutional problem within the City. He questioned why COPA hasn’t completed the investigation and why the law office denied #AnjanetteYoung’s FOIA request and then sanctioned her . #EndRaids

COPA responded by saying that neither CPD nor the City’s law department notified them about #AnjanetteYoung’s lawsuit. #EndRaids

They further stated they plan to sit down with CPD and the law department to ensure they are notified in a timely manner. None of that speaks to the fact that they haven’t concluded their investigation 13 months later. #EndRaids

The reality is that COPA is designed to be ineffectual because it is massively underfunded by design. COPA’s annual budget is $1.2 million. Contrast that with one day’s worth of CPD’s expenses which is $4 million. COPA is designed to provide a facade of accountability. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Hadden is now asking about the law department’s and CPD’s right to deny FOIA requests. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Hadden followed up by asking the law department what has changed since the cover up of Laquan McDonald’s murder by CPD cop Jason Van Dyke. They responded by saying they hired more people. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Smith asks COPA to quantify the amount of complaints regarding improper search and seizure, as they reported they constitute the largest amount of complaints that COPA investigates. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Michele Smith, herself former prosecutor, is asking the State’s Attorneys office why they haven’t gone after the informant as opposed to going after CPD who actually conducted the raid and humiliated and terrorized #AnjanetteYoung. It reads as obfuscation. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Michelle Smith is attempting to blame the informant/affiant for the behavior, decision making and brutality of CPD. This is a tactic to protect CPD from their own culpability of their own actions. It is another diversionary attempt to relieves CPD & the City. #EndRaids

By no means are the States Attorney’s office hands clean, but the answer is not to encourage the SA to prosecute the affiant, while completely absolving CPD from their own actions, nor is it the responsibility of an affiant. #EndRaids

Alderman @SigchoFor25 now is speaking and calling for an independent investigation. He went on to say that there is a pattern of Black and Brown children suffering from PTSD as a result of the actions of CPD raids. #EndRaids

Alderman @SigchoFor25 has asked the law department to list the other FOIA requests that have been suppressed. The law department said that they are conducting an audit on this. #EndRaids

Alderman David Moore asked Superintendent Brown whether or not he knew that the Mayors chief of staff was the former director of strategy for the Chicago Police Department. He said he did not. He also questioned why the COS did not inform Super. Brown. #EndRaids

Alderman Vasquez states that the City wants action and needs #CPAC passed. He then asked Superintendent Brown whether all video had been made public. Brown said he does not know. #EndRaids

Alderman Vasquez asked Superintendent Brown how many officers has he stripped of powers due to similar abuses. Brown says that number is 54. For clarification this does not mean they were fired, just that they were placed on paid desk duty. #EndRaids

Alderman Vasquez asked whether any CPD officers complained about the raid on #AnjanetteYoung’s house. Both Brown and COPA said none. He then said that speaks volumes to what is wrong with CPD and reveals the fallacy of the bad apples narrative. #EndRaids

Alderman Vasquez asked how many raids occur where women are naked and are they reported. COPA responded that they do not know and do not count them. Vasquez asked how many people are still employed who were apart of the Laquan coverup. No answer to that. #EndRaids

Alderwoman @RossanaFor33 condemns Lori Lightfoot for not attending the hearing today. She said that press conferences are not hearings and that this is the time to speak with City Council about what has occurred. #EndRaids

Ald Rosanna also critiqued the absence of the law department who should have provided all the information to City Council and instead are having to request info through this hearing. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez asked why it took so long to place the officers on desk duty, which just occurred Monday. Super Brown said he in essence was just made aware of the video. #EndRaids

Ald Rodriguez asked COPA how many recommendations for firing are honored by CPD. COPA said they will get her the answer. This answer will reveal ineffectiveness of their office. We know CPD routinely ignores recommendations for firing. FOP pres Catanzara is an example. #EndRaids

Alderman Harry Osterman asked Superintendent Brown to explain what happened procedurally after the raid on #AnjanetteYoung. Brown blamed COPA on delays and said he would like to take immediate action. A lot of hot air and passing of blame. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Sophia King said that Superintendent Brown needs to “go a step further” beyond banning no knock warrants since CPD can essentially knock & barge in a residence w/in seconds rendering the difference moot. King asked what the CPD can be charged with in #AnjanetteYoung .

COPA didn’t clearly answer the question but said CPD rarely executes official no knock warrants but effectively enacts warrants in a no knock manner. Again #EndRaids, end ALL raids.

Alderwoman @taylorfor20th said that CPD & the panel are professional time wasters & said where was the logic and common sense that would have allowed a resident to put on clothes. She also asked who reviews search warrant video. She silenced the whole panel. Crickets. #EndRaids

Superintendent Brown said they don’t have anyone routinely reviewing raid videos and that it would take more resources. Ald Taylor said they have 40% of the budget, they have all the resources. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Leslie Hairston asked COPA what made what happened to #AnjanetteYoung not unique, per COPA’s description. Hairston asked was it the wrong information or was it the fact that she was naked. COPA basically didn’t answer. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Hairston listed all of the majority white neighborhoods in Chicago and pointed out that all of the white neighborhoods had no search warrants issued during the last year. #EndRaids

Superintendent Brown just blatantly lied and said CPD is continuing to adopt “any and all” recommendations from the Consent Decree use of force working group. CPD accepted FIVE out ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE. #EndRaids wbez.org/amp/stories/cp…

Alderwoman Emma Mitts, who supports the new police academy on the West side and demonized the #nocopacademy campaign, is talking about the rampant racism in CPD. Cognitive dissonance man... #EndRaids

COPA’s response to why the investigation has taken so long which includes the fact that they have over 220 complaints received during the pandemic & the plethora of investigations into CPD killings - all speak to why CPD needs to be defunded and abolished. #EndRaids

While this hearing on search warrants is unprecedented in City Council’s history, it threatens to be mostly performative unless home raids are completely stopped. We don’t care how upset electeds are if nothing structurally changes to prevent the continuation of raids. #EndRaids

Alderwoman Stephanie Coleman said the entire process, the cover up and delay in investigation is bullshit. She also silenced the panel. Crickets. #EndRaids

Right wing racist and former cop Alderman Napolitano is now speaking on justifying the use of home raids. #EndRaids

Alderman Napolitano infamously rallied with white supremacists. chicago.suntimes.com/platform/amp/2…

https://twitter.com/soit_goes/status/1112809631980683268

Alderman Lopez is requesting an investigation of all raids within the last ten years. He also asked whether the law department routinely suppresses videos like that of #AnjanetteYoung. #EndRaids

Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rosa @CDRosa “When we have a system of policing predicated on slave catching, on suppressing working people we should not be surprised. This is a logical example of the system we have based on racist oppression and why we must push toward abolition. +

Continued: “This is not the exception this is the logical conclusion of policing in this country. This means we need CPAC and further, we need an up to down reconfiguring of what public safety is bc it’s clear that certain systems are unreformable & must be abolished” #EndRaids

On that dope note, we will end our live tweeting of the hearing. Check out @BlockClubCHI for continued live reporting. #EndRaids