The sergeant who oversaw a raid on the wrong home that resulted in social worker Anjanette Young being handcuffed naked has been fired from the Chicago Police Department.
In a 5-3 decision, the Chicago Police Board voted in favor of discharging Alex Wolinksi for multiple rule violations and “failure of leadership” in the case, according to the 31-page written ruling.
Former CPD Supt. David Brown filed documents outlining administrative charges against Wolinski with the Chicago Police Board in 2021. Brown recommended Wolinski be fired.
Wolinski, who has been with the department since 2002, allowed Young — who was undressed and getting ready for bed when police burst into her home in 2019 looking for a man with a gun — to remain in handcuffs and naked for 40 minutes in a room full of male police officers — even after officers realized that they had entered the wrong address, according to the documents.
One specific rule Wolinski was accused of violating forbids “disrespect to or maltreatment of any person,” according to the document. The board found Wolinski guilty of this charge.
“Though it was clear that the officers were not at the residence of the intended target, [Wolinski] nonetheless allowed Ms. Young to remain naked and handcuffed for an extended period of time — over ten minutes,” the ruling states.
To bolster his position that Wolinski should be terminated, Brown also pointed out that Wolinski didn’t adhere to the Police Department’s knock-and-announce rule before entering Young’s Near West Side home; failed to intervene to stop the disrespectful treatment of Young; and failed to promptly present a search warrant, a task that took 15 minutes.
“Considering the totality of the circumstances, the Board finds that the officers’ actions failed to adhere to the Knock and Announce Rule,” the ruling states. “The officers waited no more than five seconds, and likely closer to three seconds, from the time that they first knocked on the door to their attempt to gain forcible entry to Ms. Young’s residence.”
A sobbing Young can be seen on the body-cam video telling officers more than 40 times that they had the wrong house; an officer later gave her a blanket to cover up.
Wolinski wasn’t present when the door was breached, and he should have been, the ruling states. He “failed to lead” during the incident and “did not attempt to control the situation, as a leader should.”
Wolinksi also failed to present Young with the warrant when she initially asked to see it, which would have helped to calm her down, the ruling states.
“Ms. Young repeatedly pled to see the search warrant,” the ruling states. “Respondent ignored those repeated pleas.”
In their written dissent, Steven Block, Nanette Doorley and Andreas Safakas, the board members who voted against firing Wolinski, said it was “easy to see” why the officer lost control of the situation.
“The scene was chaotic from the outset and spiraled quickly from there,” the dissenting members said. Wolinski “attempted to deescalate the situation, but the skills he had were inadequate to do so. These were serious failures, and Ms. Young is the one who suffered.”
The three thought a “lengthy” suspension without pay would be more appropriate discipline.
COPA determined Young’s experiences reveal more pervasive problems within the department — larger than any individual incident of officer misconduct.
“The intrusion against her person and the invasion of her home implicate other concerns, including lack of adequate training and supervision surrounding the Department’s use of search warrants and the disproportionate impact of police actions on people of color,” the agency’s report read.
Young filed suit against the city and 12 officers over the botched raid in 2021 and received a $2.9 million settlement from the city. But the social worker has also called for police raid reforms to be enacted by the City Council.
Last fall, a council committee failed to pass the so-called Anjanette Young ordinance, which, among other things, would have required warrants to be executed only after a “written plan” using the “least intrusive” tactics possible.
Contributing: Tom Schuba, Fran Spielman
