Portside

Over a period of nearly 20 years, Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge and his "midnight crew" allegedly tortured at least 119 people, forcing them to make confessions. The police officers beat the victims, burned them with lit cigarettes and handcuffed them to hot radiators. They tied plastic bags over their heads and nearly suffocated them. They put cattle prods on their genitals and in their mouths and electrocuted them. (Adeshina Emmanuel, The Chicago Reporter)*

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Best-selling author Carl Hiaasen reflects on the national epidemic of police going after African Americans: When is the last time you heard of a white man in a Mercedes-Benz being pulled over for driving with a broken taillight? It has probably happened somewhere, some time, but there's a better chance of your car being hit by a meteor.

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Public defenders know that the trouble with our justice system extends far beyond abusive policing.

Cities and the federal government have already offered a slew of concessions: civil rights investigations, body cameras, civilian review boards, increased diversity in police departments. These reforms are not likely to fulfill protesters' demand for a transformation of policing in the United States. Where the protests are headed .. 'If we recognize the system doesn't work for us . then you're talking about getting rid of capitalism.'

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