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CRIME AND CRIMINALS: MURDER HOMICIDE :
POLICE BRUTALITY :
DISABILITIES:
Why Did Park Forest Police Kill a 96 Year Old Veteran
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Why Did Park Forest Police Kill a 96 Year Old Veteran
By Peter Bella
August 18, 2013 at 7:59 am
Interesting Chicago
http://www.chicagonow.com/interesting-chicago/2013/08/
why-did-park-forest-police-kill-a-96-year-old-veteran/
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A shorter URL for the above link:
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http://tinyurl.com/nwqun2g
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What brought this trip down Memory Lane up is the story of John Wrana, a
96 year old World War II veteran. He was suffering from demetia and living
in a nursing home in Park Forest. Mr. Wrana was killed in his room at the
nursing home by the Park Forest Police. He was tased and shot in the
abdomen with a bean bag round fired from a shotgun. Evidently Mr. Wrana
had some type of episode. He was armed with a long shoe horn and what was
described as a "kitchen knife".
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A SWAT team arrived in full Ninja Warrior regalia, including riot shields.
Mr. Wrana was backed into or returned to his room of his own accord. He
sat down in a chair. At that point, reasonable people possessing common
sense would have backed off. A 96 year old man sitting in a chair poses no
real threat to anyone. If well trained police officers cannot handle a
frail 96 year old man, how can they be expected to handle anyhone else?
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I was embarrassed, shocked, and appalled when I read the story of Mr
Wrana. I could not believe supposedly professional police officers would
kill a 96 year old man, especially if they had been trained properly in
handling senior citizens and people with mental illness issues.
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During the police academy and my thirty year career on the Chicago Police
Department one thing was always stressed. We should protect and do no harm
to the most vulnerable in society, small children and the elderly. The
elderly should be treated with respect and dignity, even if they are
suffering from dementia and may appear violent.
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snip
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When this investigation is over, the public deserves a complete
explanation why Park Forest Police Officers fired a bean bag round at
close range from a shotgun at a 96 year old man in a nursing home. As Desi
Arnaz used to say, the Park Forest Police have some "splaining to do"
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Vet killed by cops should have been celebrating 96th birthday
August 18, 2013
John Kass
Chicago Tribune
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-18/news/
ct-met-kass-0818-20130818_1_park-forest-taser-two-police-officers
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A shorter URL for the above link:
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http://tinyurl.com/l8rdg4v
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John Wrana, just shy of his 96th birthday, was angry and agitated.
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We contacted experts who deal with the elderly, to ask them how best to
calm down an old man like him.
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And not one suggested you'd do it the way Park Forest police did last
month:
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First jolting him with a Taser, and then following that up by shooting him
in the guts with a bean-bag round fired from a shotgun at around 300 feet
per second.
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Try as we might, we could find no experts to tell us that Tasing and
firing bean-bag rounds at an old, old man was the preferred method for
handling him.
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snip
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He lived at Victory Centre, an assisted-living facility in south suburban
Park Forest. His trouble started when he refused medical attention for a
urinary infection. Paramedics were called, and they summoned police, who
said later that Wrana had been threatening people with a 2-foot-long metal
shoehorn and a kitchen knife. Police responded with an extraordinary level
of force. Wrana died in a hospital of internal bleeding hours later, on
July 27.
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Rosenbaum-Cooks trains family caregivers and professionals to deal with
Alzheimer's patients. Wrana, according to his family and lawyer for his
estate, did not suffer from Alzheimer's. But she is an expert in dealing
with this type of agitation among the elderly.
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She says she teaches her pupils to "de-escalate a situation before it
becomes an emergency. I counsel families and professionals to really try
to look at what is the source of the agitation."
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A lawyer for the Wrana family disputes the police report of the knife,
saying Wrana didn't have such a weapon.
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Police Killing of 95-year-old War Hero in Illinois Outrages Nation
Posted August 8th, 2013
BY MICHAEL RICONDA
Rockland County Times
http://www.rocklandtimes.com/2013/08/08/
police-killing-of-95-year-old-war-hero-in-illinois-outrages-nation/
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A shorter URL for the above link:
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http://tinyurl.com/lzpnndt
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When John Wrana, a U.S. Air Corps veteran who served in Burma and India
during World War II, flew into a fit at his assisted living home in Park
Forest, Illinois because he didnt want to receive surgery at a nearby
hospital, one might not think the best course of action to physically
subdue the frail old man would be to hit him with a taser and bean bag
rounds.
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We do not know the exact circumstances after police forced themselves into
Wranas nursing home room with riot shields, but we do know they ended the
situation with precisely those tactics. Wrana was brought to the hospital
shortly thereafter, but died from internal bleeding.
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Given that police are often faced with unique and unexpected situations,
police are right to believe even a man of Wranas age could pose a risk.
The question, however, is whether Wrana did pose a threat in this
particular instance.
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According to an investigative report by John Kass of the Chicago Tribune,
reports from staff and family members who were at the scene challenge the
polices official report, arguing that in spite of police claims, Wrana did
not pose much of a threat. Wrana, who was described by his family as an
independent, vital man who still regularly partook in the nursing homes
activities, was still physically weak and often required a walker to move.
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Though police claimed Wrana had armed himself with a 12-inch butcher
knife, staff explained they did not see any weapon when they were in his
room. Wrana was also seated at the time of the incident, casting further
doubt on police claims that he needed to be forcefully subdued, especially
with equipment typically used for riot control. Were they afraid he would
hobble over with the knife stuck point-forward in his walker?
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The staff even claimed they pleaded with police to let them handle the
situation. If unarmed staff were willing to let armed police step aside to
assist an allegedly dangerous man, what does that tell you about his true
threat level?
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Our Opinion: Police Taser oversight good move by legislature
By The Editorial Board
The State Journal-Register
Posted Aug 22, 2013 @ 01:04 AM
http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/x1868830461/
Our-Opinion-Police-Taser-oversight-good-move-by-legislature
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A shorter URL for the above link:
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http://tinyurl.com/qfeq56s
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Taser use by Illinois police departments is getting more scrutiny from
state lawmakers and deservedly so.
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House Bill 131, which Gov. Pat Quinn signed Friday, sets in motion some
common-sense oversight regarding stun-gun use by police.
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The law requires all probationary police officers to undergo training in
stun-gun use as part of the normal course of their studies, the same way
they are trained to use firearms, investigate crashes, administer first
aid and give court testimony.
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The training in the use of electronic control devices also will include
learning about the psychological and physiological effects of the devices
on humans.
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snip
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The reason for the increased scrutiny is twofold, Davis said to protect
the public and to protect police departments.
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We have a lot of evidence that further training in the use of the Taser
should be provided. Its not like, Heres a billy club and you just use it,
she said. Its a lethal weapon. Its like a gun but hopefully it doesnt
kill, although we know from past records it does kill.
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She added: And then we dont want police departments to be sued because of
improper use of that tool. So hopefully it will reduce the number of suits
being filed, reduce the number of lives of being lost and reduce the
unnecessary Tasering thats being employed.
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Police Taser use absolutely deserves more scrutiny and oversight.
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In July, police in the Chicago suburb of Park Forest stunned 95-year-old
John Wrana and shot him with beanbag rounds after they were called to his
assisted-living home because hed fought with ambulance employees trying to
take him to the hospital. Wrana confronted officers with a cane and a
butter knife and died following the altercation of blunt-force trauma from
the beanbag rounds, authorities said.
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The complete article may be read at the URL above.
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