Police wrongly raided my home. It's not an isolated mistake [View all]

[Jilly_in_VA]

Anjanette L. Young

When Chicago police came to my door on Feb. 21, 2019, officers said they were looking for a criminal. Instead, they found me, a social worker, alone in my home, naked as I was changing clothes, believing I was safe.

Even though the warrant listed a man’s name, they forced their way in, handcuffed me while naked and left me standing there – humiliated, exposed and terrified – as they searched every room of my home. I kept asking who they were looking for and why they were there, but my questions were met with silence and indifference.

In that moment, I was not treated as a human being. I was treated as if my dignity did not matter. More than a year later, a police accountability board found that officers committed nearly 100 acts of misconduct during the search of my home.

My story is not just about what happened to me. It is about what can happen to anyone when there is no accountability. Since that terrible night, I’ve dedicated myself to trying to prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else.

I don’t believe we need to do anything radical to prevent mistakes like this from happening. The U.S. Constitution contains an important safeguard that has been ignored for far too long. If the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case recently appealed to it – Mendenhall v. Denver – warrants would be granted with more care.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2026/05/06/supreme-court-fourth-amendment-warrant-hearsay/89522673007/?tbref=hp

This happens far too often. It's not a certainty that this iteration of the Supremes will stop it, either.