Opening statements Tuesday in trial for lawsuit over Chicago Police raid that traumatized children
Peter Mendez was only 9 years old when his family's home was wrongly raided by Chicago Police back in November 2017.
Seven and a half years later, the Mendez family is finally getting their day in court. In a lawsuit, they have accused the Chicago Police Department of using excessive force, pointing guns at children, and raiding the wrong apartment.
U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama gave the city and the Mendez family attorneys one more chance to settle the case before the trial began Monday morning, but the two parties could not reach an agreement. Thus, a jury was sworn in, and the outcome of the case now ultimately lies with that jury.
The ordeal for the family started when a confidential informant, or "J. Doe," told police drugs were being sold in the second-floor apartment, on the 2300 block of South Damen Avenue. But a CBS News Chicago investigation found police failed to follow department policy and independently verify the address the informant gave him was correct. It wasn't.
Despite this, police supervisors, an assistant state's attorney, and a judge signed off on a search warrant that listed an incorrect unit number. With that warrant in hand, at 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2017, a team of several officers burst into family's apartment.
"Next thing you know, I look back and I just see the cops coming through our door" with guns, Peter said in his first interview in 2018. "They [police officers] traumatized me a lot."
The federal lawsuit accuses officers of using unreasonable and unnecessary force against the children and their parents, unlawful search, unlawful detention, false arrest, and infliction of emotional distress, among other counts.
In previous interviews with CBS News Chicago, and during a deposition as part of his family's lawsuit, Peter said officers pointed guns at him and his then-5-year-old brother, Jack. The children can be heard crying and screaming in body camera video, as police handcuffed their father face down on the ground in front of them.
At one point during the search, an officer is heard on camera acknowledging police are in the wrong apartment. Officers previously denied pointing guns at anyone during the raid in interviews with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
The family said the children feared for their lives, and Peter is suffering from symptoms of PTSD as a result.
In addition to the other counts, the lawsuit also claims the Mendez family's civil rights were violated when they took the word of an informant about a drug dealer. CBS News Chicago found the informant's information was wrong, and police raided the wrong address without verifying it.
Judge Valderrama explained to the jurors Monday that the target of the search warrant actually lived in the apartment above the Mendez family, and also that Peter and Jack Mendez said officers pointed guns at them and left them traumatized.
The Mendez family lawyers will also try to establish a systematic pattern of CPD officers raiding the wrong homes and using excessive force against other innocent families and children who separately sued the city. This was all part of CBS News Chicago's yearslong investigation.
Opening statements in the trial begin on Tuesday. The trial is expected to last 10 days, and to include testimony from dozens of witnesses — among them the officers involved and the Mendez children as soon as Tuesday.
The Chicago Law Department will not comment on pending litigation.
The officers have denied pointing guns at the Mendez kids.
