2nd Analysis Paper

Family shattered after raid, home loss

By Mary Schmich

The Chicago Tribune

On October 2, 2011, the Harris family home in Chicago, Illinois was raid by the police. The police ran into the house to arrest two family members of the Harris family for animal-related misdemeanors. There was also an allegation of the making and selling of drugs. Reported a neighbor had complained to the city or CAPS about what was going on in the Harris family home. The two members of the Harris family are being accused falsely according to family members. The Harris family has never been in any part of animal cruelty or drug use, but the police have said otherwise.

“In July, Ald. Scott Waguespack's aides contacted the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy office for the 18th District. The alderman's email noted that some neighbors had complained about unleashed dogs and drugs in tiny Privet Playlot Park. The playground is separated from the Harris home only by a vacant lot. While the alderman himself says that he had not focused on the Harrises as a major problem — he was more concerned about nearby empty lots and vacant houses — his office also forwarded to CAPS a complaint letter that had arrived with a photo. In the photo, a little girl stands in the playground staring down at drug paraphernalia. The CAPS office told the beat officers to be on alert.’’

“According to the police, Michael took the dog to the vet that day, but it was malnourished and had suffered heatstroke and it died; the vet gave his report to a police officer.

From there, the case went to the Animal Crimes Unit, which, after surveillance, felt there was sufficient cause to enter the Harris home and to do it with enough force to protect its officers.

After the raid, a news release about it appeared on the 18th District CAPS website.’’

Even neighbors of the Harris could believe what had happened. The police treated the family with little care, and neighbors do not believe that the family should be kicked out of their home. “One neighbor described the scene on her blog.”I felt like I was on 'The Wire!' Fantastic," she wrote. "... The neighbors hung out near our fence, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, you know, as if this sort of thing happens every day in Lincoln Park. I watch 'Breaking Bad,' yo, I know about meth. I bet they were totally cooking in there.’’

The Harris family cannot believe what they are being accused of. The Harris family shows their dogs to reporters stating that they have never hurt their own dogs. The Harris’s dogs are well feed and taken care of. Also the house that the Harris family currently live has not been well kept according to CAPS, and the house is in a higher end neighborhood. The neighborhood that the Harris family lives in has changed dramatically over thirty years. The Harris family is being evicted from their home of over thirty years.

“Shortly after the raid, one of the Harrises' daughters, Yvonne, stood up at a CAPS meeting.”I said: 'If you all had a problem with us, all you had to do was knock on the door. Let me know. I will address it.'" She recalled the meeting as she sat in her parents' living room last week, surrounded by packing boxes."We're not the cream of the crops here," she said. "We didn't have the money to fix up the property like other people fixed up theirs. We living. We try to maintain here as a family, keep our parents comfortable." At the CAPS meeting that night, several people who had complained about the family were in the audience. None of them said a thing.’’

The Harris family is not happy with the police for the raid. They felt that the situation could have been handled better. Police should have not raided the home without a search warrant and explaining to them of what they are being accused of. The family would have cooperated with the police if the Chicago police searched the home instead of kicking down the door.

“The family doesn't blame the police. They have nothing bad to say about their neighbors. Mostly, they're hurt and mystified and convinced, as some of their supporters are, that they are up against forces of development too big to fight. Mrs. Harris propped her head on one of the boxes. She gazed out the window, silent, toward the playground, where on Sunday several neighbors will throw them a farewell party. "It's not the dogs," she finally said. "It's not us. They just want this property." The facts in this case can be argued. So can what they mean. But what happened to the Harrises should not have happened, not this way. To banish a family from its longtime home, so abruptly, without mercy and without help and with no proof of great crime, is simply wrong. It divides a divided city even more. Chicago is better than that.’’

On October 16, 2011, the Harris family was given extra time to stay in their family home. “They see more clearly how they appear to newcomers and have thought about how they might adjust. They've acknowledged that owning a house involves more than keeping your taxes paid, even if paying the taxes is why you can't afford to fix your house. And despite everything, even knowing some neighbors want them gone, they still love their neighborhood. "I really don't know nowhere else I could fit in," Mr. Harris said. Then he waved a hand up Sheffield. "Though if I could find me something pretty nice up that way, I would be all right." At least he has gained a little time to figure that out from the tattered comfort of home.’’

The Harris family has a little hope now that they are not in the streets of Chicago yet. Schmich wrote mostly here opinion of this piece. She does not get angry or says anything negative about the Chicago police, but she does get a lot of good quotes from the Harris family. She tries to remain neutral on this subject because Schmich is reporting on what is going to happen on the Harris family. Mary Schmich has a good lead on this story, and has also been writing on updated of this story. Maybe there will be updates to come? A good writer does not settle on one if it means something to them personally or professionally.