Disappeared News

by Larry Geller

Chicago police mounted a preemptive, warrantless break-in and arrested and detained occupants of an apartment building in an undisclosed location last night.

The best report I’ve seen (actually, heard) so far is an interview on tonight’s WBAI news. Unfortunately, that’s audio, and so I can’t quote from it. The player below links to the program on the WBAI archive page, where it will remain for only seven days.

[Player removed – it was auto-starting on some browsers—use link above]

Police are reported to have broken down the doors and entered with guns drawn, terrorizing occupants. According to the report, at least some of those arrested were kept in cells without bathroom access. No warrants were shown, though the police did wave some papers but would not show them or provide copies.

There are articles that give some of the flavor of the raids. For example:

Five activists raided and arrested in an apartment in Bridgeport on the south side of Chicago continue to be held without charge. They were arrested during the night around 1 am on May 17, along with four other activists who have since been released. Those four were also held without charge.
…
It has become routine to conduct preemptive raids ahead of National Special Security Events like the NATO summit, but that does not mean the operations of Chicago police are any more acceptable. Hermes states, “The Constitution still applies.” The police “do not have the right to break down your doors and search your apartment and your belongings without a warrant and without consent. That is still against the law.”

[The Dissenter, Activists Disappeared Ahead of NATO Summit Continue To Be Held Without Charge, 5/18/2012]

This article notes that police lie about what they find in their illegal raids.

Permalink posted by Larry @ 5/18/2012 09:28:00 PM