Cop Found Not Guilty of Killing 95-Year-Old Man
February 16, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
From a reader:
What kind of society, what kind of a system, is this where the “police protocol” for dealing with a delusional 95-year-old is to kill him? What does it mean when this is approved and upheld in a court of law?
John Wrana was a frail 95-year-old who needed a cane and a walker to get around the assisted-living facility where he lived. In July 2013, when he became delirious, the staff called paramedics to transport him to the hospital, suspecting an infection that often causes delirium in very old people. But John Wrana was confused and scared and he refused to go with staff or paramedics. He was delusional from the infection. He stood in his room with a kitchen knife and a long shoehorn in his hands, and told everybody to leave him alone.
Wrana clearly needed help. What would have been a humane and effective way to help him? Talk to him calmly and try to get him to sit down? Leave the room and check on him periodically to make sure he’s ok? Wait til he tired out and fell asleep? The paramedics made the fatal mistake of calling the police.
The police in Park Forest, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, arrived in riot gear. They immediately escalated the situation, treating Wrana not as a very ill old man in need, but as a dangerous threat. Then they staged a five-man invasion of Wrana’s room to “extract” him, armed with riot shields, Tasers, handguns, and a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with “nonlethal” beanbags. They burst into his room and ordered him to drop the knife, and when he didn’t, they Tasered him. And when the Tasers failed to hit him, the supervising officer ordered that beanbags be fired at Wrana. Five beanbags, fired at close range and travelling at over 180 mph, knocked Wrana down—and he was “subdued.” THEN they took him to the hospital.
John Wrana died the next day from massive internal bleeding from the beanbag rounds. Character assassination of Wrana began as soon as he died. The first story by the police said that Wrana was wielding a machete—it was actually a long shoehorn. The five cops towered over Wrana, who was 5'5", but Wrana was depicted by the cops as a dangerous menace even though he couldn’t walk without a cane. They said that the cops were in fear for their lives and had no choice but to attack him. Really?
This case is different from most other murders by police because the cop who pulled the trigger of the shotgun under orders, Craig Taylor, was actually indicted and tried on charges of reckless conduct. The supervisor who planned and ordered the raid and was in the room when Wrana was hit was not charged with anything, nor were the other three cops who participated. When Taylor was indicted, there was a huge outcry from police, outraged that he was charged at all. They protested that he did absolutely nothing wrong, that he was following regular police protocols. Every day in court a large contingent of cops from all over the area showed up to support Taylor.
But this case was not different in outcome from the vast majority of the tiny number of murders by police that ever go to trial. Taylor was found not guilty by the judge. Taylor’s defense was based on his ludicrous claim that he feared for his life, and that therefore he followed official police protocol for using deadly force. Two of the other cops with him testified they too feared for their lives. Taylor testified that he considered shooting Wrana with his handgun, and would have been within protocol to do so, but decided to try the beanbags first because of Wrana’s age! The judge upheld all this, finding that Taylor did not use excessive force and that he was indeed doing his job correctly.
So we have to ask once again: what kind of a system is it where the official and legal “police protocol” for dealing with mentally ill or distressed people—like this delirious 95-year-old—is to kill them? It is a system that needs to be overthrown and replaced.
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