Police: No Black Ops Happening At West Side Facility
By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 25, 2015 9:40PM
So that Chicago Police Department facility in Homan Square UK newspaper The Guardian claimed in an article to be a secret “interrogation facility?” CPD says there’s nothing to see there.
As we mentioned in our post on the Guardian story, the existence of the West Side site isn’t a secret but there’s been speculation for years about the interrogation practices and civil rights violations that happen there. CPD Media Affairs director Martin Maloney told the Sun-Times interrogations happen the same there as they do at other department facilities and station houses; the site houses CPD’s Organized Crime Bureau, SWAT teams, ballistics lab and an Evidence and Recovered Property Section where residents can claim inventoried property. CPD has even used the facility to host news conferences to tout major drug busts and gun seizures.
As for the claims by attorneys and “NATO 3” member Brian Church that secret, off-the-grid interrogations happen there, Maloney cited that no torture allegations have been connected to the site.
“If lawyers have a client detained at Homan Square, just like any other facility, they are allowed to speak to and visit them,” Maloney said. “There are always records of anyone who is arrested by CPD, and this is not any different at Homan Square.”
As for John Hubbard, the 44-year-old man who was found unresponsive in an interrogation room and later died, Maloney said Hubbard died of an accidental heroin overdose and was in custody because he tried to buy drugs from an undercover police officer.
Honestly, we're surprised Maloney responded with this much information. It doesn't matter that the public is aware of or that CPD acknowledges its existence or how many news pressers Superintendent Garry McCarthy holds outside the facility. It's what happens inside, even alleged, that gives the story its legs. These are complaints that have been made for years and Maloney's response seems like very thin whitewash.
There's a saying: just because you aren't paranoid doesn't mean someone's not out to get you.
Previously
Does Chicago Police Department Have A Secret West Side Interrogation Facility?