In a stunning report by Spencer Ackerman at The Guardian, Ackerman outlines how the Chicago police have created and run a CIA type Black Site at Homan Square where they take arrestees and various other pre-detention prisoners while using harsh interrogation techniques that were favored by the CIA during its war on terror. This article screams police state tactics used against minorities and protestors and those the Police deem are threats to public safety.
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.
At least one man was found unresponsive in a Homan Square “interview room” and later pronounced dead.
You can read the entire shocking story here and here.
