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| US attorney general: Homan Square findings are 'extremely important' | US attorney general: Homan Square findings are 'extremely important' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The US attorney general, Loretta Lynch, has described allegations of unlawful detention at Chicago’s Homan Square police facility as “extremely important”, in the first official acknowledgement by the US Justice Department that the off-the-books interrogation warehouse may pose constitutional concerns. | The US attorney general, Loretta Lynch, has described allegations of unlawful detention at Chicago’s Homan Square police facility as “extremely important”, in the first official acknowledgement by the US Justice Department that the off-the-books interrogation warehouse may pose constitutional concerns. |
| Related: Homan Square revealed: how Chicago police 'disappeared' 7,000 people | Related: Homan Square revealed: how Chicago police 'disappeared' 7,000 people |
| The nation’s top law enforcement official also warned that a new federal investigation into racial bias in Chicago police department practices could be expanded to include the treatment of prisoners at the facility, if more information were to come to light. | The nation’s top law enforcement official also warned that a new federal investigation into racial bias in Chicago police department practices could be expanded to include the treatment of prisoners at the facility, if more information were to come to light. |
| A transparency lawsuit brought by the Guardian revealed last month that more than 7,000 detainees had been “disappeared” at Homan Square – most held without access to lawyers or notification of their presence at the secretive facility. | A transparency lawsuit brought by the Guardian revealed last month that more than 7,000 detainees had been “disappeared” at Homan Square – most held without access to lawyers or notification of their presence at the secretive facility. |
| Nearly 6,000 of those held between August 2004 and June 2015 were black, but only 68 were allowed access to attorneys or a public notice of their whereabouts, according to obtained internal police records. | Nearly 6,000 of those held between August 2004 and June 2015 were black, but only 68 were allowed access to attorneys or a public notice of their whereabouts, according to obtained internal police records. |
| Asked about Homan Square during the launch of her separate investigation into whether there were racial disparities in the use of force by police in Chicago, the US attorney general made clear for the first time that she was aware of and troubled by the allegations regarding Homan Square. | Asked about Homan Square during the launch of her separate investigation into whether there were racial disparities in the use of force by police in Chicago, the US attorney general made clear for the first time that she was aware of and troubled by the allegations regarding Homan Square. |
| “The issues that you raise are extremely important,” Lynch said in answer to a question from the Guardian about whether Homan Square would be included in the federal investigation into police violence. | “The issues that you raise are extremely important,” Lynch said in answer to a question from the Guardian about whether Homan Square would be included in the federal investigation into police violence. |
| “They are not at this time within the purview of our investigation,” Lynch said, “but, as we have notified the city, with every patten and practice investigation we always reserve the right to expand it should more information come to light and require a review of constitutional issues there as well.” | “They are not at this time within the purview of our investigation,” Lynch said, “but, as we have notified the city, with every patten and practice investigation we always reserve the right to expand it should more information come to light and require a review of constitutional issues there as well.” |
| The civil rights attorney Flint Taylor, lead lawyer on a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges “unconstitutionally coercive and torturous tactics” by Chicago police and connects Homan Square to an alleged pattern of racially motivated policing, said he had “guarded optimism” regarding the DoJ investigation. | |
| But he added that Homan Square should be a part of the DoJ investigation from the beginning and said: “Our lawsuit … raises all of those issues. It shows the police violence and the racist nature and you need to look at the entire history of the whole department.” | |
| A number of local politicians, civil liberties groups and Black Lives Matter activists recently renewed their demands to the Department of Justice for an “immediate investigation” of practices at Homan Square. | A number of local politicians, civil liberties groups and Black Lives Matter activists recently renewed their demands to the Department of Justice for an “immediate investigation” of practices at Homan Square. |
| “This reported pattern suggests that the Homan Square facility exists primarily for the purpose of housing off-the-books detentions and interrogations without the knowledge of or access to counsel,” Cook County commissioner Richard Boykin wrote to Lynch. | “This reported pattern suggests that the Homan Square facility exists primarily for the purpose of housing off-the-books detentions and interrogations without the knowledge of or access to counsel,” Cook County commissioner Richard Boykin wrote to Lynch. |
| “If accounts of the activity taking place at Homan Square are correct, then the very existence of the facility is unconstitutional, and the civil rights violations that take place there are numerous and ongoing.” | “If accounts of the activity taking place at Homan Square are correct, then the very existence of the facility is unconstitutional, and the civil rights violations that take place there are numerous and ongoing.” |
| On Monday Aislinn Sol, a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in Chicago, told the Guardian: “Homan Square must be closed and all complicit in its terror and human rights violations must be held accountable.” | |
| Related: US Justice Department to open inquiry into Chicago police department | Related: US Justice Department to open inquiry into Chicago police department |
| Protests regarding the secretive police warehouse followed the Guardian’s initial Homan exposé in February, after which Boykin and US congressman Danny Davis hand-delivered their request for a federal inquiry to the office of the then US attorney general, Eric Holder. | |
| At Monday’s press conference in Washington, Lynch declined to comment further on that request but warned that a collapse in trust in Chicago policing could spark further demonstrations and possible violence. | At Monday’s press conference in Washington, Lynch declined to comment further on that request but warned that a collapse in trust in Chicago policing could spark further demonstrations and possible violence. |
| “When suspicion and hostility is allowed to fester, it can erupt into unrest,” said the attorney general. | “When suspicion and hostility is allowed to fester, it can erupt into unrest,” said the attorney general. |
| “At this point in time, the investigation is focusing on use of force and the systems [of accountability] within the Chicago police department,” she told the Guardian. | “At this point in time, the investigation is focusing on use of force and the systems [of accountability] within the Chicago police department,” she told the Guardian. |
| The inquiry follows the delayed release of dashcam video of the 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald, a teenager who was shot 16 times by officer Jason Van Dyke. | The inquiry follows the delayed release of dashcam video of the 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald, a teenager who was shot 16 times by officer Jason Van Dyke. |