Body-cam recording reveals Chicago police missteps in botched raid

On Behalf of | Oct 10, 2019 | Criminal Defense |

After the recent revelations in video obtained from Chicago police officer body cameras, is it any wonder that many city residents doubt the word of cops? According to the recordings, Chicago police officers can be heard breaking through the door of a family’s home and then continuing their search – even though after they realized they had entered the wrong residence.

According to a CBS news report, “Chicago Police Officer Joe Cappello had a search warrant to raid a drug offender’s home, but he didn’t make sure he was hitting the right place.” This is just one of many wrong-location police raids that casts doubt on the validity of similar raids that end in arrests on drug-related charges.

According to the CBS report, Cappello had made a drug arrest the day before the botched raid and had gotten the suspect to become a confidential informant. The informant then gave the officer the name and address of a so-called drug dealer; information Cappello never investigated before the raid on the innocent family’s home.

Instead, all the officer did was drive by the apartment building where the family lived.

Even though the informant’s tip wasn’t verified, Cappello’s superior, prosecutors and a judge all signed off on a search warrant.

The failure to do even minimal investigative work is just one of the many reasons the family is suing the city’s police department. Another reason is the trauma an 11-year-old boy lived through that day when officers aimed guns at him and handcuffed his father.

Though the officers in the botched raid claimed to have treated the family with “the utmost respect,” the search warrant was executed by officers who did not even knock on the front door, as required, before storming through it.

Officers are later heard on the body-cam recording whispering that they had entered the wrong home.

If you or a loved one has been wrongfully arrested by Chicago police officers, an attorney experienced in both civil rights litigation and criminal defense can help you protect your rights and freedom.

Archives

RSS Feed

FindLaw Network