The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden 'black site'
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.
At least one man was found unresponsive in a Homan Square “interview room” and later pronounced dead.
Are we a police state yet?
I keep asking this question and every time I do I find some people angry with me for asking and they vehemently deny that the U.S. is a de facto police state, despite the fact that:
1) People are being illegally arrested, abused, beaten and murdered by the police with rarely any consequence.
2) Police infiltrate legal protest groups and act as agent provocateurs.
3) Police and intelligence agencies illegally intercept communications and run "off the books" surveillance operations.
4) American citizens may be executed by drone with no meaningful due process.
5) Torture is legal.
6) Citizens may be punished via bureaucratic regulations with little to no recourse (civil forfeitures and "no fly" lists).
Are we going to refuse to see the obvious until such time as our police start sporting Hugo Boss uniforms with nifty little skull insignias?