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Taguba Report Annex 83: Testimony of Sergeant First Class Keith A. Comer, Platoon Sergeant, 229th Military Police Company, Abu Ghraib Prison

Feb. 10, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 289
Testimony of Sergeant First Class Keith A. Comer, Platoon Sergeant, 229th Military Police Company. SFC Comer verified an incident he previously reported involving 2-3 Military Intelligence personnel abusing a detainee. He said he and other soldiers repeated the allegations to ensure command understood that abuse was taking place. He then described how lacking the facilities were for the soldiers and how it was affecting their performance. He stated that senior officers were unconcerned and did not addressed the poor camp conditions. He said “I've never seen anybody from the 800th come and spend the night, there. They are gone by dark, because Abu Ghraib is a dangerous place after dark”. The SFC then concluded his testimony with the following: “I don't think you need to have training, to know that hitting someone in your custody is wrong. It's an issue of right and wrong. I've had many conversations with the MI folks after that, and I told them from the beginning, that I wouldn't tolerate that.
AUTHORING AGENCIES:
INCIDENTS OF ABUSE MENTIONED:
  • Unknown date, Abu Ghraib (Baghdad Correctional Facility (BCCF)), Iraq
    • Interviewee was a Sergeant First Class of the 229th Military Police Company assigned to AG. Recalled experiencing dire conditions while in AG. Recounted an incident where MI personnel hit, drug, yelled at and abused a handcuffed detainee. The soldier hit the detainee on the back of the head with a closed fist, the soldier yelled '[e]yes down' and '[g]et up' while knocking the suspect down and repeating the verbal abuse. A second soldier joined, and put an arm lock around the detainee's neck, pulling the detainee forward from the ground. The soldier pulled the detainee from the ground by the neck, twisting left and right, the first soldier then stuck the detainee in the mid-section of his stomach.