Thread: WW2 hero refuses medical care, so cops kill him in his nursing home

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WW2 hero refuses medical care, so cops kill him in his nursing home



Abuse of Authority

Posted by Austin Petersen on 03 Aug 2013 / 73 Comments

Die for your country! Or they’ll do it for you!

2 videos at the page link:

WWII Veteran John Wrana Served honorably in India and Burma during the conflict

95-year-old veteran John Wrana fought for America in World War 2, but he didn’t get a chance to die for his country. Instead, his country killed him with a beanbag shotgun blast to the stomach after a thorough tasering.
The incident began after Wrana, who uses a walker, refused a surgery at his assisted living home. He grew agitated at the staff for pressuring him for medical attention. He was a war hero and didn’t like being pushed around.
Soon the police arrived to subdue the senior citizen, riot gear at the ready to take on the wobbly old man. Conflicting reports have emerged between officers and staff, with the employees of the home reporting that they asked officers not to harm him and requested to intervene. Wrana suffered from ”degenerative disk disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine.”

Wrana’s stepdaughter holding a picture of John (Credit: Steve Miller)

Police decided instead to taser the war hero and follow it up with a beanbag to the guts. Officers reported that a knife had been pulled, but no knife was found on the scene. The police used a riot shield, shotgun and taser on a 95-year-old man in a walker who arguably presented no threat to anyone but himself.
“Police reported top hospital staff, according to records we received that they tasered John, but ‘the taser didn’t take,’ then proceeded to shoot John three times with bean bags in the abdomen and that John ‘was about five feet away’ at the time,” said Wrana’s family attorney Nicholas Grapsas.

Investigations are ongoing, but it has been revealed that the officers who shot him have received training about the use of bean bag shotguns. They are issued guidelines about specific factors to consider before shooting their target. One of their factors?

Age.

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Autopsy report pushes John Wrana probe forward

Findings in the police killing of 95-year-old raise as many questions as they answer

October 01, 2013|John Kass



Pictures of the late veteran John Wrana are on the table as his friends play cards at the Blakey Center for Seniors in Glenwood. (Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune)

The state's investigation into the police killing of 95-year-old John Wrana can now officially proceed, with the release of the long-awaited Cook County medical examiner's postmortem report.
Illinois State Police investigators have been waiting for the report so they can complete their own probe into Wrana's bizarre death.
But the medical examiner's findings, released Monday, raise as many questions as they answer about a homicide that never should have happened.

Wrana was an infirm World War II vet who needed a cane to walk. He was mortally wounded by police at his home in the Victory Centre assisted living facility in south suburban Park Forest, and bled to death internally several hours later.
At the center of all of this is whether Park Forest police acted within the law when they first tased the 95-year-old man, then shot him in the stomach with at least one "super sock" tactical bean-bag round from a Mossberg 12-gauge police shotgun.
The State Police public integrity task force is talking to witnesses and examining the evidence. Park Forest police have not made public statements since their initial defense of the Wrana shooting in July.
Park Forest police may have believed they had a good reason for what they did, but I think most reasonable people can't understand how such a thing could have happened.
What was the officers' justification for such incredible violence against a tiny old man with a cane?
The Wrana family says through its attorney that he was shot more than once, possibly while sitting in a chair in his room. The medical examiner's report may support this scenario in one way, while undercutting it in another.
The report cites "multiple contusions involving the proximal and mid-portions of the small intestine," suggesting he may have been shot more than once. But the report also states — in a brief narrative based on the police account — that Wrana was advancing toward officers while waving a knife when they gunned the old man down in his room.
I called Sally Daly, spokeswoman for Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, since the Illinois State Police investigation will ultimately go to Alvarez.
"We've not been contacted by the Illinois State Police at this point," Daly said Monday. "If and when we are contacted, we'll review the results of that investigation and make the appropriate decisions."
I read the 17 pages of dry facts and clinical observations from the Wrana autopsy. The report describes his frail condition, his injuries and more than a liter of unclotted blood in his abdomen, caused by the trauma. It also gives us a sense of this human being, tragically lost to his family and friends.
"The body is that of a 95-year-old adult white male measuring 5 feet 5 inches in length and weighing 160 pounds," the report states. "The hair is short, thin, white and receding …. The face is unshaven. The eyes are partially open. The irises are blue … the skeleton of the nose is intact … the earlobes are creased."

A man who survived service in Burma in World War II and lived in quiet dignity, playing cards with his pals, ended up under fluorescent lights at the medical examiner's office. Why?
Wrana's family believes that at the time of his confrontation with police he was suffering from delusions due to a urinary tract infection. Geriatric physicians and others told me that delusions in such patients are common, and that often UTI symptoms are misunderstood as psychotic episodes.
The medical examiner's report says Park Forest police intended to take Wrana to Ingalls Hospital in Harvey for a psychological examination.
"The initial responding officers attempted to take the subject into custody," the ME's report states. "But he began swinging at them with a steel walking cane, and an approximately three-foot-long iron shoe horn."
The officers called for a supervisor to help direct them at the scene, the report states.
"The subject (Wrana) went into his room and came back with the steel cane and a 12-inch knife with a 7-inch blade. At this time a (Taser) was fired at the subject, but failed to connect as it had no effect on the subject.
"When he advanced towards the officer, brandishing the knife in a threatening manner, an officer fired a less lethal super sock round from a shotgun which knocked the subject to the floor, allowing them to handcuff him."
What this preliminary police narrative given to medical examiner investigators does not address is the frail nature of the "subject."
But in earlier pages, the ME's report does just that, detailing Wrana's ailments. Included are heart problems and a "degenerative disk disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine."
How an old, old man who needed a cane to walk a few feet could frighten police so much that they first shot him with a Taser and then in the guts with a 12-gauge beanbag round is beyond me.
Wrana not only had a degenerative spinal condition, according to the medical examiner's report, he also suffered from hardening of the arteries and bone spurs in his joints.
Not exactly a ninja.
Another thing we have found in our reporting so far involves Park Forest police training with the Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun that shoots the bean bag or "super sock" rounds.
In the documents we received through a Freedom of Information request, police who are training to use the so-called less lethal shotgun rounds are given guidelines.
Under "Target factors to consider" are listed the following:
Sex of target, pregnant, size of suspect, distance to suspect, clothing, under the influence of alcohol/drugs, obvious signs of injury and psyche of suspect.
Oh, and one other factor police are to consider:
Age.
John Wrana was just weeks shy of his 96th birthday.

jskass@tribune.com
Twitter @John_Kass

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...police-killing

John Wrana Death: Questions Persist In Killing Of 95-Year-Old Veteran Tased By Police

Posted: 09/23/2013 4:57 pm EDT | Updated: 09/23/2013 6:28 pm

Video, Chicagoland Crime, Excessive Police Force, John Wrana, John Wrana Death, John Wrana Killed By Police, John Wrana Shot With Bean Bag Gun, John Wrana Tased By Police, Police Brutality, Police Excessive Force, Chicago News

Almost two months have passed since a 95-year-old man was fatally tased and shot with a bean bag gun by a police officer in a Chicago-area assisted-living home, but those who knew John Wrana have not given up their fight for answers to the many questions that remain in the incident.
Last week, the family of Wrana emphasized at a press conference that they believe police used a "truly excessive" amount of force on the evening of July 26, when they were called to the facility where the World War II veteran lived, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report. They say someone needs to be accountable for the loss of their loved one.
As police tell it, Wrana -- who was a resident at Victory Centre Senior Living Facility in south suburban Park Forest -- was refusing medical treatment from staff when they were called to the home. When police arrived at Victory Centre, they say Wrana threatened them with a cane and a 12-inch knife and they used a stun gun in an attempt to subdue him, ABC Chicago reports. They then proceeded to storm into room in riot gear and shoot him in the stomach at close range with a bean bag gun.
Wrana died from internal bleeding at an area hospital hours after the confrontation and his death has been ruled a homicide and the incident is now under review by the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Unit.
But Wrana's family isn't buying into the official account of the struggle that took the elderly man's life.
Wrana, his stepdaughter and caretaker Sharon Mangerson said last week, was in a "very fragile state of health," was suffering from a urinary tract infection at the time of the fatal altercation and relied on his cane to get around. Police could have used other means to subdue him, they claim, according to the Chicago Tribune's John Kass.
Nicholas Grapsas, the family's attorney, told ABC that, based on the information he's been given, police shot the bean bag gun as close as just five feet away from Wrana as much as three times.

"I believe that the knife in and of itself does not make this a lesser excessive use of force," Grapsas told the station.
The family has yet to file a lawsuit pending the results of the investigation. No police officers have been reprimanded in the incident.
"There are so many lawsuits done in this country and in this world today that are ridiculous. I don’t believe in that," Mangerson told CBS Chicago, while noting she still wants "somebody to be accountable for this."

Earlier on HuffPost:

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3976983.html

World War II veteran, 95, died after police shot him with TASER and bean bag rounds for 'threatening care home staff with his CANE'

• John Wrana was being 'involuntarily' committed for medical treatment
• Brandished his cane and a shoehorn and police were called to care home
  

By Anna Edwards
PUBLISHED: 09:20 EST, 7 August 2013 | UPDATED: 16:51 EST, 7 August 2013
885 shares

A 95-year-old world War II veteran died after being Tasered and hit with bean bag rounds by police for threatening care home staff - but his family insist he was killed unnecessarily.

Police say that John Wrana, who lived in a Chicago assisting living home, was brandishing his cane, a metal shoehorn and a knife before officers shocked him and hit him with bean bag rounds.
The senior citizen had been reported to authorities because he was being 'involuntarily' committed for medical treatment by staff at the Victory Centre, the Chicago Tribune reported.


+3

John Wrana (pictured with his wife, Helen) died after being Tasered and shot with bean bag rounds

He was behaving in 'combative' manner, by threatening staff with his cane and a shoehorn. Wrana was reportedly scheduled to undergo a risky surgery, and was apparently afraid to end up on life support.

When police arrived at Park Forest at around 8.45pm, they said he was ordered to surrender, but he refused to and continued to berate staff and threaten them.

Officers claim he then picked up a 6-inch knife, but his family's attorney alleges that care home staff did not see him do this, The Blaze reported.
He was then shocked by a Taser, hit with rounds of bean bag ammunition, and was taken into custody and then to hospital.
Staff claimed that he was sitting in a chair during the row, suggesting that the force used by authorities might not have been warranted, according to The Blaze.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Mr Wrana was conscious when he was taken to St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Chicago Heights.

But he was then moved to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at about 2.30am.

The Southtown Star reported that an autopsy found the war veteran died from being shot in the stomach with the 12-gauge shotgun with bean-bag ammo.


+3

The senior citizen had been reported to authorities because he was being 'involuntarily' committed for medical treatment

The incident was ruled as a homicide by the medical examiner, The Blaze reported.
According to the Wrana family lawyer, Nicholas Grapsas, the 95-year-old was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Corps in the rank of a sergeant after fighting in India and Burma. During his service in the Pacific, he was shot down once.

After the war, the Massachusetts native moved to California and got into real estate before settling in Glenwood, Illinois.

+3

john Wrana died death was later ruled as a homicide by the medical examiner

His wife of more than 30 years, Helen, passed away in 2005. The veteran lived with his 74-year-old stepdaughter, Sharon Mangerson, until his health took a turn for the worse.

An autopsy found that the 95-year-old man died from internal bleeding after being shot in the stomach from a bean-bag gun.

Grapsas and Wrana’s stepdaughter have questioned the official version of events laid out by police, insisting that the elderly man was sitting in his chair the entire time, and neither his family nor staff ever saw a butcher knife in his room.

‘The Japanese military couldn’t get him at the age he was touchable, in a uniform in the war,’ Grapsas told the Tribune. ‘It took 70 years later for the Park Forest police to do the job.’

Grapsas said he was told that between five and seven responding officers came armed with a riot shield commonly used in demonstrations to enter Wrana’s room before shooting him in the stomach.

His stepdaughter described the 95-year-old as a fiercely independent and vital man who still enjoyed playing cards.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Wrana was scheduled to undergo an operation. On the night of the tragic incident, his doctor told Margenson over the phone that even if he survives the surgery, her stepfather will likely end up on life support.

Wrana than got on the phone with Sharon, thanked her for everything she has done for him and told her he loved her before saying goodbye and hanging up. That was the last she's heard of him.

Mr Wrana's family are now deciding whether to file a lawsuit, according to their attorney.
'This was a literal war hero,' Mr Grapas said.
'It’s outright insulting when you have such lack of respect for someone who served our country to the extent he did.'

The Victory Centre is a 112-apartment supportive living community for adults 65 and older, it's website says.

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