Mark Clements was tortured at a Chicago police station as a teenager and forced to admit to a quadruple murder.
He was 16 at the time. Detectives working under now-disgraced Lt. Jon Burge pulled the confession out of him. He was 44 when his conviction was overturned in 2009.
And after all that time, he sees the same Chicago Police Department operating today.
“Jon Burge may be dead, but his tortures still ring on,” Clements said Friday at a protest in Homan Square outside a CPD facility that has been criticized as a so-called “black-site” where officers illegally detain and abuse people — a claim the police dispute. Since his release, Clements has spent much of his time working as a police accountability activist.
“What have we seen different from 1981 to 2020? We haven’t seen much different,” he said. “Why do I take this personal? I lost 28 years of my life. I’ve seen how much the city of Chicago cares about the people.”
A few hundred people gathered Friday to call for the redirection of resources from CPD to community programs that would provide better educational, trauma and health support. They also continued a long-standing demand for a civilian police accountability council to put oversight of CPD in the hands of the community.
After a few people addressed the crowd at the start, musicians took turns playing songs while people passed out water, snacks, masks and hand sanitizer. Across the street, a few dozen officers stood in riot gear at the entrance of the controversial police site. Officers on the roof of the five-story building watched the crowd with binoculars.
Trina Reynolds-Tyler is an activist with several grassroots organizations and a recent University of Chicago graduate with a master’s degree in public policy.
Reynolds-Tyler said attempts to “reform” the police have gone nowhere, meaning lasting change will only come through divesting from CPD and investing in community resources.
“Police accountability to us looks like defunding the police. It looks like reducing the proximity of police to people,” she said. “People should have access to safety, access to treatment on a regular basis. Period. And they shouldn’t have to be arrested to access services.”
Reynolds-Tyler said the recent drive-by shooting of 15 people outside a Gresham funeral home proves policing is not preventative, but reactionary. The shooting occurred despite Chicago police later saying they had been tipped off that an attack was possible, and had stationed two squad cars and a tactical unit outside the funeral home.
“What we learned from the mass shooting that happened is that police don’t keep us safe,” Reynolds-Tyler said. “Police were there, police were notified. Not only did they not prevent it, but they also did not stop it midway. And honestly, the only thing that they bring to the table are handcuffs and incarceration.
“You need to really call your alderpeople and tell them to defund CPD. I need all of the alderpeople to know that we want to defund the CPD. They do not keep us safe.”
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) was the only City Council member at the protest.
After rallying for a couple of hours, about 1,500 protesters started marching through Homan Square and Lawndale with officers in helmets walking alongside them.
Neighbors came out of their homes to wave and film demonstrators as passing cars honked their support.
Marchers chanted at the officers, “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?” mixed in with messages against Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
After reaching Douglas Park, the protesters marched back, returning to Homan Square shortly after 9 p.m.
