Was police killing of 95-year-old necessary?
August 03, 2013|John Kass
When John Wrana was a young man, fit and strong and fighting in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps, did he ever think he'd end this way?
Just a few weeks shy of his 96th birthday, in need of a walker to move about, cops coming through the door of his retirement home with a Taser and a shotgun.
The old man, described by a family member as "wobbly" on his feet, had refused medical attention. The paramedics were called. They brought in the Park Forest police.
First they tased him, but that didn't work. So they fired a shotgun, hitting him in the stomach with a bean-bag round. Wrana was struck with such force that he bled to death internally, according to the Cook County medical examiner.
more
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-03/news/ct-met-kass-0802-20130803_1_butcher-type-kitchen-knife-park-forest-police-taser
= new reply since forum marked as read
with a bean bag would kill him? 
The minimum charges imo should be reckless homicide and may all who assaulted this elderly man be so charged. 
I think Hell just froze over 
At first, some gullible people here at DU were actually arguing that 95 year-olds can be quite strong abd athletic - and HEY, he had a 12-inch butcher knife, because plenty of people at his luxury apartments enjoy gourmet cooking in their large kitchens, after vigorous horse-riding outings (mentioned in the marketing brochure for the nursing home) - and he was THREATENING people at the "assisted living center" for HOURS, so of course the upstanding police had to methodically apply their escalating non-lethal force to this THREAT, and, unfortunately, unknown to any of the fine, young, upstanding Peace Officers, the old guy died after reaching his appointed Hospital destination. Huh. His death might have been caused by some pre-existing health condition. Nothing to see here. Move along.
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NOW, as knowledgeable readers instantly noticed a week ago, the crucial 12-inch butcher knife that he was allegedly threatening police with - "picked up" after the 95 year old dropped his cane and shoehorn, two entirely believable "weapons" available to an old guy in a nursing home angry at being dragged off for "medical treatment" on a Friday night - was merely alleged by the police, as a key reason for having to BLAST John Wrana with a shotgun, which killed the almost-centenarian - and has disappeared under the spotlight of skeptical investigation. Nobody else saw it - ever - in John Wrana's room. Not family. Not staff. Not ambulance drivers. Only the police, who killed Wrana.
Here's a video of John Kass talking about the unfolding investigation:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-0802-20130803,0,6512125.column
Now that the whole story is not provided only by the Park Forest police report, interesting details are coming out.
"Attempts were made verbally to have the resident comply with demands to drop the articles, to no avail," the police statement reads. "The resident then armed himself with a 12-inch butcher type kitchen knife."
But lawyer Grapsas says that Wrana's family never saw a knife in his room and that staff also told him Wrana didn't have such a knife.
"So where did the knife come from?" Grapsas asked.
Exactly.
I pointed this out last Sunday:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=550587
As Democracy Now! reported in a story about another senior citizen killed by clueless aggressive police last year (and there as well, only after the family retained a lawyer to pushback against the "official police report" did the truth come out):
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/4/family_of_kenneth_chamberlain_sr_seeks
But there was a claim that Chamberlain had tried to use—initially it was reported as an ax, put through the door, that the police grabbed away from him. Then it was later downgraded, because—and I know by discussions with the district attorney’s office—they said it was a meat cleaver, not an ax. And now it turns out that in the reports of the police officers on the scene, it was an eight-inch butter knife that went through—that he tried to put through the door and was taken away from him.
(click SHOW FULL TRANSCRIPT > )
Press-release - he used an axe against us before we killed him !
After some inquiries - ok, it was a meat cleaver.
After the lawyer pushes for actual timestamped evidence reports and witnesses - ok, it was a butter knife, that he used at the door to try to keep us from breaking it down. Which we did.
Welcome to the world of police reports and unnecessary killings.
We should all be outraged about this. 
How totally f*%king stupid and sadistic can you get!? 
Thanks for the thread, n2doc.
for the humorously impaired.
