Grand Jury Points to Ill. Jail Cover-Up

[Rose Siding]

CHICAGO -- A report issued Thursday by a special grand jury accuses Cook County sheriff's officials of trying to derail an investigation into allegations that officers beat jail inmates in 1999.

"The people responsible for policing ethical lapses and other misconduct were the perpetrators of what appears to be blatant obstruction of justice," the report said. "The only aspect of the obstruction still in question is the scope."
.........
The jail's Special Operations Response Team has been accused of ordering more than 40 inmates out of their cells in the maximum-security division on Feb. 24, 1999, then beating, kicking and stomping them.

The report said the grand jury has no doubt that the team "engaged in gross, if not criminal, misconduct" but that a sheriff's investigation into the incident sat "dormant for almost two years until there was no realistic chance of bringing criminal charges" because the statue of limitations had expired.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-jail-violence,0,2678295.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[lil-petunia]

1. and the elected Sheriff in thief

A chicago mayoral buddy named Mikie Sheahan was described as being deliberately ignorant during his Grand Jury testimony.

Translation, you lying scum sucker, you knew, but you claimed not to.

A huge story, added to the Burge fiasco ( several hundred confessions beaten out of people by Officer Jon Burge, now himself under indictment)

And, on top of all this, wrongful convictions, hiding of exculpatory evidence, and lying to courts, starting back when Richie Daley was still States Attorney, and not the Mayor of Chicago.

[davsand]

2. This can't be a shock to most people.

I used to see several letters per week from incarcerated people seeking legal assistance. One thing that turned up time after time from Cook County was the statement that inmates were beaten and abused. I realize that a lot of people dismiss that kind of thing as jailhouse sob stories--but this was far too frequent and far too specific to dismiss.

Some of those stories were just heartbreaking...

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. All the ex-cops brought in for a deposition in the matter

all pleaded the 5th, too.