Mayor Lightfoot: 'I Feel A Lot Of Pain' For Anjanette Young, Woman Handcuffed Naked By Chicago Police

CHICAGO (CBS) – It came just hours after a dramatic acknowledgement—that Mayor Lori Lightfoot had been made aware months ago of a bad police raid in which Chicago's officers stormed into a woman's apartment, handcuffing her as she stood naked and alone: The mayor—admitting that she was angry and in pain—met one-on-one with CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini to dig into what went wrong.

Why did the city deny a Freedom of Information Act request by the victim, Anjanette Young, to see the video, and why did officials try to cover it up? Mayor Lightfoot vowed people involved would be held accountable, a review of every search warrant will be conducted and, most importantly, she would do what is necessary to make amends to Anjanette Young.

The mayor has had better days, she said.

"I've felt better," she told Savini. "First of all, I feel a lot of pain for Miss Young. I keep thinking about the clip you all had on your website … and it was really hard to watch.

"The anguish and pain she was clearly suffering and the trauma she was experiencing, it was impossible for me to not put myself in her place. I've had a lot of conversations with my sisters and family members, my Black girlfriends about how that could've been any of us. And I feel angry about what she experienced."

The CBS 2 Investigators have reported for the past two years on a series of raids that targeted dozens of innocent victims—guns pointed an young children, families left freezing in the cold. And, it keeps happening. Even after the city put new policies in place in January, it keeps happening.

The mayor said she would demand accountability, but when? She's been in office since May, 2019. (Young was victimized in February of that year.)

Savini pressed the mayor on that point:

Savini: But it's been two years?
Mayor Lightfoot: There must be accountability, and there will be accountability.
Savini: How long do we have to wait?
Mayor Lightfoot: I don't think that two years is appropriate. I don't think one year is appropriate. These have to be taken seriously, they have to be done thoroughly but on an expedited basis.

The mayor was clearly angry with her law department and spoke to them on Thursday. She said denying a victim's right to see video can never happen again—in fact, a Freedom of Information Act request will no longer be necessary. She was angered that city lawyers tried, and failed, in federal court to block CBS 2 from reporting on the video. Even worse, the lawyers, in their filings, asked the judge to sanction Young and her attorney after the video was leaked.

"That should have never happened," she said. "And as I said to the law department today orally and in writing, the media plays an important role in our government to hold us accountable, to make sure there is transparency."

"It was the wrong thing to do. I've made that abundantly clear."

When asked if she wondered why she didn't know about the tape, the FOIA and the law department's actions, she said: "It makes me angry that I didn't know about it. It makes me angry that decisive action wasn't taken."

And, she said, she will fire everyone involved if something like this happens again. At the news conference earlier, she left that action on the table in the case, but wants a full investigation first.

The mayor also had a strong message for the police officers who don't follow the policies. They will face consequences, she promised. She also had this to say as police go about their work: "Someone's home is sacrosanct. You should feel safe when you walk into your home and shut your door from outside world. Under our system of laws under the Constitution, there are limited number of circumstances where that sanction can be breached. We have to take that seriously."

Now, reviews are being conducted and the city can expect Police Supt. Brown to make more changes in search warrant policy. To date, CBS 2 is not aware of a single person, who has been held accountable--no discipline, no demotion, no firing. Two years, dozens of innocent people terrorized. Not. One. Person.

"I've said if we made a mistake we're going to own that mistake and do everything we can to make it right to the victims, period," Lightfoot said.