Chicago Top Attorney Quits Amid Outrage Over Concealing Footage of Raid of Black Activist's Home

Chicago Corporation counsel Mark Flessner resigned Sunday following widespread outrage over his department's attempt to block the broadcast of bodycam footage of the unlawful raid of a black social worker's house.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who accepted Flessner's resignation, promised a full review of events surrounding the raid of Anjanette Young's house in February 2019. "(We) will take corrective action where appropriate, and will hold people accountable,” she said in a statement.

It was not clear whether Flessner was asked to quit.

He told Chicago Tribune he was resigning "because of the firestorm around the whole tape controversy. "I'm being accused of trying to hide it, which is not true,” he said.

In his statement, Flessner said it was clear the raid of Young's home was a tragedy that all must learn from. “Standing up for racial injustice and fighting for equality within our justice system are crucial matters that we must continue to work toward addressing as a community.”

Lightfoot's administration came under fire earlier this month after the Law Department tried to block news outlets from airing the body camera footage of Chicago police officers mistakenly raiding Young's home in search of an armed felon.

The footage showed a handcuffed Young standing naked in her home. She is heard telling officers that they are in the wrong house. The suspect in question was later found to live next door.

The video was later obtained by Young as part of a lawsuit against the city, and then by several news outlets, said NBC Chicago.

The city lawyers had also filed a request to have Young sanctioned for allegedly violating a confidentiality order but later said it only wanted her lawyer sanctioned. A federal judge had rejected the request to prevent a television station from airing the footage, Chicago Tribune reported.

Since former Mayor Rahm Emanuel's failed attempt to keep secret a video showing white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times, Chicago had instituted a rule allowing the release of police shooting videos and audio within 60 days.

The Mayor's office had argued that Lightfoot was "blindsided" by the motion filed by her law office requesting the footage not be aired. It also revealed it failed to give Young’s attorney all of the body camera footage of the raid.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Lightfoot said her administration will not anymore withhold video from residents seeking police records about their cases. She, however, acknowledged that the handling of the matter harmed her relationship with the people in the city.