An appeals court panel has upheld a decision to fire the Chicago police supervisor in charge of the botched raid in 2019 that led to social worker Anjanette Young being handcuffed naked in her home.
The decision came down last week, with the appeals court affirming the Chicago Police Board’s finding that Sgt. Alex Wolinski’s inability to lead or intervene “allowed the horrible treatment of Ms. Young to occur and continue.”
The board voted in June 2023 to discharge Wolinski from the police department, finding his actions led to “public distrust and a lack of confidence in the integrity of the Chicago Police Department.” In a 31-page ruling, the board specifically cited Wolinski’s “failure of leadership.”
Wolinski fought the decision by filing a complaint with the city. Then, when a Cook County judge sided with the board in October 2024, Wolinski appealed. Wolinski said he made “a reasoned, although inappropriate, judgment when faced with a chaotic and emotionally charged situation,” according to the appellate ruling.
But the appeals court found Wolinski’s firing wasn’t “arbitrary and unreasonable,” as he had claimed.
The city’s Law Department said the court “appropriately upheld the Police Board’s findings that Wolinski exhibited extremely serious and substantial shortcomings in connection with executing the warrant, and that his conduct warranted discharge.”
Young was undressed and getting ready for bed when police burst into her home in February 2019 looking for a man with a gun.
Wolinski, who had been with the department since 2002, allowed Young to remain in handcuffs and naked for 40 minutes in a room full of male police officers. She remained in that position even after officers determined they were at the wrong home.
In 2021, a day after the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released its findings on the raid, then-police Supt. David Brown moved to fire Wolinski.
That same year, Young sued the city and 12 officers involved. She received a $2.9 million settlement and has since become an outspoken advocate for police reform.
In April, she was selected to serve on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, the oversight body now charged with finding a new police superintendent.
Wolinski’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wolinski now works for the Niles Police Department, state records show.