Chicago 'black site': former US justice officials call for Homan Square inquiry, Two former senior Justice Department officials are calling on their colleagues to investigate a secretive warehouse used for interrogations by Chicago police and likened to a CIA “black site” facility.
Sam Bagenstos, who during Barack Obama’s first term was the Justice Department’s No 2 civil rights official, said that the Guardian’s exposé of the Homan Square police warehouse raised concerns about “a possible pattern or practice of violations of the fourth and fifth amendments” that warranted an inquiry.
William Yeomans, who worked in the civil rights division from 1981 to 2005, and served as its acting attorney, said the allegations about off-the-books interrogations and barred access to legal counsel reported by the Guardian merited a preliminary investigation to confirm them, a first step toward a full civil rights investigation.
“I would certainly call on them to take a look at it, yes,” Yeomans said.
A Guardian investigation details a secret facility where Americans were unable to be contacted by their legal counsel while locked inside and repeatedly denied access to basic constitutional rights.
At Homan Square, a nondescript warehouse on the city’s west side, police arrest or detain people for hours without booking or otherwise posting public notifications of their whereabouts, preventing their relatives knowing where they are.
Numerous lawyers reported difficulties getting basic information about their clients from Homan Square, with three saying they had personally been turned away by police from entering the building even as their clients were inside. Police denied access to a Guardian reporter who showed up at the facility to seek answers.
“It certainly raises the very serious question about whether there is a pattern of practice of constitutional violations, of excessive force, denial of right to counsel, coercive interrogations,” said Bagenstos, now a law professor at the University of Michigan.
“This is definitely the kind of practice that you would expect the Justice Department to look into.”Read More
Sam Bagenstos, who during Barack Obama’s first term was the Justice Department’s No 2 civil rights official, said that the Guardian’s exposé of the Homan Square police warehouse raised concerns about “a possible pattern or practice of violations of the fourth and fifth amendments” that warranted an inquiry.
William Yeomans, who worked in the civil rights division from 1981 to 2005, and served as its acting attorney, said the allegations about off-the-books interrogations and barred access to legal counsel reported by the Guardian merited a preliminary investigation to confirm them, a first step toward a full civil rights investigation.
“I would certainly call on them to take a look at it, yes,” Yeomans said.
A Guardian investigation details a secret facility where Americans were unable to be contacted by their legal counsel while locked inside and repeatedly denied access to basic constitutional rights.
At Homan Square, a nondescript warehouse on the city’s west side, police arrest or detain people for hours without booking or otherwise posting public notifications of their whereabouts, preventing their relatives knowing where they are.
Numerous lawyers reported difficulties getting basic information about their clients from Homan Square, with three saying they had personally been turned away by police from entering the building even as their clients were inside. Police denied access to a Guardian reporter who showed up at the facility to seek answers.
“It certainly raises the very serious question about whether there is a pattern of practice of constitutional violations, of excessive force, denial of right to counsel, coercive interrogations,” said Bagenstos, now a law professor at the University of Michigan.
“This is definitely the kind of practice that you would expect the Justice Department to look into.”Read More
