◆ SpookStack

+ sae ee er ee S e answers may never be known. 7 . . 1 - Some questions and attempted answers about the raid. For those who _ a‘ crime puzzle, this is one of the Was Hampton slipped a drug by the FBI informant to knock him uncon- scious before the raid? , In a private autopsy conducted by a pathologist hired by Panther support- ers, a high level of secobarbital was reported found in Hampton’s blood, which would have placed him in a deep stupor. The original autopsy by the Cook County coroner’s office found no drugs. A third autopsy conducted . months later for the federal grand jury “using the most specific and sophisti- cated test known for secobarbital” on several blood samples from Hampton found no such drug. The federal grand jury was very critical of the results of the Panthers’ private autopsy, but the Panthers and their medical authorities stick to it. Why would 14 policemen with hand- guns, shotguns, a carbine, and a machine gun — but no tear gas — sneak up on an apartment in the middle of the night if they didn’t intend a wipeout? The arms and time of the raid were not unusual. On April 11, 1969, a com- bined force of 60 police and FBI agents ‘using submachine guns, searchlights, and a helicopter set a trap in Chicago for three Black Panthers who allegedly came to pick up illegal machine guns they had purchased from federal under- cover agents. The arrests went off with- out a hitch. .On June 10, 1969, a simultaneous series of pre-dawn raids in Chicago, Summit, and Maywood involving as many as 300 law enforcement officers resulted in the arrest of three Panthers on an indictment for kidnaping and tor- turing a man and woman. A good argument can be made that on Dec. 4, there were not enough police officers present. — On June 4, 1969, 40 FBI agents, some with tear gas,’ surrounded Panther headquarters at 2350 W. Madison St. An agent phoned the building to tell the Panthers they were surrounded and why (seeking a fugitive for murder). Portable sound equipment was used to persuade them to come out without a shot and without teargas. The federal grand jury report states . that “Sgt. Groth did not consider the use of portable sourid equipment and thought that a prior phone call was a ‘bad idea.’”’ It continues, ‘Sgt. Groth's plan did not contemplate the use of teargas.” Groth said elsewhere he did not want to call on the Panthers to come out and risk a gun battle while his men were still outside because he was afraid of what the neighbors might do to his men. : The federal grand jury concluded, “Unquestionably, the raid was not pro- fessionally planned or properly ex- ; ecuted.”’ Was there a conspiracy between the "FBI, State’s Attorney Hanrahan, and his policemen to murder Hampton and Clark? , Hanrahan Edward Vv. The Panther attorneys argue this way: Hoover put a lot of pressure on all his agents to break up the Panthers, whom he considered “the greatest threat to the internal security of the co! . The COINTELPRO program, espe- cially the anonymous letter from the Chicago FBI office to the Blackstone Rangers and the implied hope of “‘re- prisals” in the related memo, certainly showed malice aforethought by the FBI. Also, the FBI tried first to get the Chicago police gang intelligence unit to make the weapuip ralu, vuc Wiiciirmimcy—— did not, the FBI turned to the state’s attorney’s police. The FBI supplied a layout of the apartment, and the Pan- ther lawyers say this included notice of exactly where Hampton slept. The arguments on the other side are “these: If the FBI wanted to kill Panth- ers in general they could have dene it on their own previous raids and traps. (One might argue they wanted some- . body else to do it.) Also, there is no evidence against Hanrahan except the not-surprising fact that he was consulted by his aides be- fore the raid and vigorously supported his officers’ account for years after- wards. Panthers and others instantly suspected the worst of Hanrahan be- cause they felt he was an out-and-out racist. I disagree with this opinion on the basis of what my day-to-day deal- ings with Hanrahan for a year and a half revealed. The state’s attorney’s police cannot be blamed for the FBI’s COINTELPRO program. There is no evidence they were even aware of it. Last, if the 14 police raiders or even just a few of them, planned murder from the outset, why did they knock on the door and announce themselves — more than .once.—-.as the .occupants. agree they did? Panther rules required them to resist incursions by persons claiming to be police. Why would con, spirators risk rousing the Panthers and getting shot? Conspiracy aside, when the opportunl- “ty was at hand, did the police seek out Hampton and purposely gun him down without justification? — : The first few facts that follow are undisputed: ; . Hampton was shot twice in the head through and through, so it is not known who fired those shots. The third wound in his left shoulder came from Davis’ carbine, according to the federal grand jury, but was probably not fatal, . continued on page 58 57