The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden 'black site'

[Stuart G]

Last edited Tue Feb 24, 2015, 02:16 PM - Edit history (3)

Source: The Guardian

The Chicago police department operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site.

The facility, a nondescript warehouse on Chicago’s west side known as Homan Square, has long been the scene of secretive work by special police units. Interviews with local attorneys and one protester who spent the better part of a day shackled in Homan Square describe operations that deny access to basic constitutional rights.

Alleged police practices at Homan Square, according to those familiar with the facility who spoke out to the Guardian after its investigation into Chicago police abuse, include:

Keeping arrestees out of official booking databases.
Beating by police, resulting in head wounds.
Shackling for prolonged periods.
Denying attorneys access to the “secure” facility.
Holding people without legal counsel for between 12 and 24 hours, including people as young as 15.




Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site

---

Strange, exposed by a source in London... very sad, very ugly.. for U.S.A, and Chicago
......Now also on front page of Huff Post..

If Mayor Rahm Emanuel does not get past 50% in today's election, this will really hurt him. Yes, there is an election today in Chicago. He needs 50% to avoid a run-off. Then there will be another election in 4 -6 weeks. Then this secret detention center will be "the issue"
As of 1pm Eastern Time..none of this has been reported in any Chicago newspapers.

This is a link at Medaiate.... Very similar, but a little different take on this.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/chicago-police-reportedly-used-gitmo-style-black-site-to-illegally-detain-citizens/

[Dems to Win]

1. Gitmo on Lake Michigan

Hell will freeze over before the Chicago Tribune will do investigative reporting about abuse in the police department.

Thanks for posting this story. I was coming here to post the link, but you were quicker.

[DeSwiss]

2. K&R

- Don't worry, I'm sure the Dept. of Justice will be on it just as soon as they can decide if any laws were broken or if it's just a part of the culture of the institution......

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. No worries,....they're only doing it to the black sheep.

[Blue_Tires]

24. +1000

[phantom power]

3. recommend

[KamaAina]

4. Got police state?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

5. Can't beat confessions out of 'em at the precinct house, can't use black sites...what's a cop to do?

[Kelvin Mace]

6. Every time a story like this pops up

I see it once again as confirmation that we live in a de facto police state. Every time I point this out, some people get upset and tell me I am being "alarmist", "hyperbolic" etc, and the mere fact that I can express such a view means we don't live in a police state.

[Stuart G]

8. This story confirms your view.

Sadly, I would add this. Is there a possibility that the Guardian has made some kind of error? I cannot believe that, but this is so awful, that I would at least raise the question. So awful and ugly that it turns my stomach. What kind of country is this? But, if this is true, I guess you have a valid viewpoint.

[Kelvin Mace]

17. Read the story

it is very long and detailed, so I don't see an error. The CPD refuses to answer questions about the place.

[deurbano]

9. Just because the situation is not as "bad as it could be" doesn't mean there is no cause for alarm.

I don't understand how anyone could fail to understand that the time to reverse the trend is before the situation develops to an even more extreme state.

[Kelvin Mace]

15. Agreed,

their view seems to be that until people are marching about in spiffy Hugo Boss uniforms, everything is fine.

[JDPriestly]

7. I blame the Supreme Court which has pretty much given the police more and more leeway

in respecting our constitutional rights.

Sounds like Chicago is a police state.

[CanonRay]

19. I grew up there and learned early

to be afraid of the Chicago cops. We all were as teenagers. The stories were rampant of beatings, phony charges, etc, but of course nobody ever looked into it. The 1968 riots were not surprise to any of us...I was 17 at the time.

[JDPriestly]

26. It's an awful city. Cold and windy and miserable. I don't understand why people choose to live

there if they can live anywhere else. I remember that it had a good art museum.

[CanonRay]

33. I had to move back for work as an adult

for 18 months, and bought a condo near the lake, and really enjoyed it. I could take the bus to the Cubs games, walk or bike the lakefront, a block from Lincoln Park, even used to bike to work. Great restaurants. It has its charms, but has a pretty seamy side as well, I admit. The art museum and the natural history museum are both terrific.

[Downwinder]

30. It goes back to the Haymarket Affair and before then.

[Faux pas]

10. Kickin'

[nilram]

25. ditto

[blackspade]

11. And this was the slippery slope that liberals warned about.

When you start down the road to fascism, it is hard to put the breaks on when you have a government run by spineless, corrupt, and bought politicians and their lackeys.

[El Shaman]

12. Hey, Mabel better get the pitch fork and pick ax out.

I'm a gonna need to sharpen em a bit!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. Now watch Conservative Libertarians claim this is PROOF of "Liberal Fascism".

[damnedifIknow]

16. And these people are supposed to be Americans?

Wear the flag on their uniform and such. My ass they're Americans.

[99th_Monkey]

18. BIG K&R! I saw this earlier today and was going to post it.

but you beat me to it. Not that it's good news, but it's an important find.

[SoapBox]

20. America has lost it's way.

[salin]

21. chilling

[McCamy Taylor]

22. Yawn. Dog bites man. Why is this news?

Oh, yes. Because Obama's man is fighting to keep his job.

Calling Chicago police "brutal" and LAPD "corrupt" is like saying the sky is blue.

[Fairgo]

23. Tripwire

Because it represents a quantum shift from bad actors to policy.

[blkmusclmachine]

27. I'm sure the "Constitutional scholar" from Chicago and his DOJ will be on this in 3 - 2 - 1 ...

[Dawson Leery]

28. It is times such as these that ISIS does not seem to be a threat to cause much alarm.

[Judi Lynn]

31. This should not be allowed to slip back out of the national spotlight. Thanks, Stuart G. n/t

[DeSwiss]

34. Well, I'm sure they'll move.

- Because everyone knows where the undercover Chi-town cops hang out now. But I'm sure someone will investigate. Just as soon as they've given Chicago sufficient time to destroy all the evidence of it's previous existence.

[Jefferson23]

32. Sickening beyond words. n/t

[Adrahil]

35. If true....

It's a major scandal. But I saw lots of allegation and very little evidence in that piece.

[JEB]

36. Fascism.

[Stuart G]

37. In fairness, statements from the Chicago Police Department: Chicago Tribune,& Chicago Sun Times

you may read the entire response here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-police-guardian-story-met-20150224-story.html

the link below is the story from the Chicago Sun Times..read it if you wish

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news-chicago/7/71/393084/homan-square-site-chicago-police-deny-report-secret-interrogation-compound
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
By Jeremy Gorner and Meredith Rodriguez
Chicago Tribune

Chicago police deny British paper's claims about beatings, illegal detentions (title of article)

The Chicago Police Department in a statement Tuesday night denied accusations in a story by a British newspaper that alleged people have been illegally detained, beaten and denied access to counsel in a Homan Square facility..


The Police Department issued a statement in response to the Tuesday story in The Guardian. The department said violence does not happen as a part of interviews with suspects or anyone else and that lawyers have access to any clients at the West Side facility. The site also houses the department's Bureau of Organized Crime, SWAT unit evidence technicians and the CPD ballistics lab, the department said.



"CPD abides by all laws, rules and guidelines pertaining to any interviews of suspects or witnesses, at Homan Square or any other CPD facility," department spokesman Martin Maloney said in a statement. "If lawyers have a client detained at Homan Square, just like any other facility, they are allowed to speak to and visit them. It also houses CPD's Evidence Recovered Property Section, where the public is able to claim inventoried property."

[DeSwiss]

39. BULLSHIT.

[Nihil]

40. Oh, that's OK then ...

> The department said violence does not happen as a part of interviews with suspects or anyone else

As long as the beatings are only as a softening up process rather than the actual interview
then we're fine. The PD statement is correct.


> and that lawyers have access to any clients at the West Side facility.

If the suspects/victims/whoever are being denied access to counsel then said counsel have not
got any clients yet and so the above statement is also perfectly correct.


It's all in the wording folks ...

Let's see what "Be Real Scared Now!" events happen to ensure this stays just a "story in a British
newspaper" rather than an illustration of the ever-growing police state.

[Blue_Tires]

38. The irony is it took a white victim to make this a "story"...