compiled by Patrick H. Moore
John Wrana died in July of 2013 at the age of 95. Over 65 years ago, Mr. Wrana served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He fought in India and Burma and was shot down once. At the time of his Honorable Discharge, he had been promoted to sergeant. Although he lived in a Chicago assisted living home, Mr. Wrana did not die a natural death. Rather, the World War II veteran died after being shot a second time with a Taser and bean bag rounds fired by police because he was allegedly threatening the staff. His family adamantly insist that he was killed unnecessarily.
The Metro Newsday.com staff writes:
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.
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.
According to the police, when they arrived at the assisted living center at around 8:45 pm, they told Wrana to put down his weapons and surrender, but he refused to do so. The officers claim that he continued to berate staff and threaten them. They state that he then picked up a 6-inch knife. Wrana’s family’s attorney alleges that the Victory Centre staff did not see him do this, according to The Blaze who state that the staff claimed that he was sitting in a chair during the row, suggesting that the force used by authorities might not have been warranted.
In any event, Mr. Wrana was shocked by a Taser, hit with rounds of bean bag ammunition, and was taken into custody and then to the hospital. The Chicago Tribune reported that Mr. Wrana was still conscious when he arrived at St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Chicago Heights, a suburb of Chicago. Later he was moved to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at about 2:30 am, slightly over five hours after the incident.
According to the Southtown Star, the autopsy found that Mr. Wrana died from internal bleeding after being shot in the stomach with the 12-gauge shotgun with bean-bag ammo.
The Baze reported that the incident was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner.
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After World War II, Mr. Wrana, a Massachusetts native, moved to California and worked in real estate before eventually settling in Glenwood, Illinois. His wife of more than 30 years, Helen, passed away in 2005. Mr. Wrana then lived with his 74-year-old stepdaughter, Sharon Mangerson, until his health took a turn for the worse.
The Metro Newsday.com staff writes further:
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 stated that he was told that between five and seven responding officers arrived at the assisted living center armed with a riot shield commonly used in demonstrations. His stepdaughter described the 95-year-old as a fiercely independent and still vital man who loved to play cards.
On the night of the tragic incident, Mr. Wrana’s doctor told his stepdaughter, Shirley Margenson, over the phone that even if he survived the scheduled surgery, he was likely to 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 bidding her farewell and hanging up. That was the last she heard of him.
According to their attorney, Mr. Wrana’s family are now deciding whether to file a lawsuit.
“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.”
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This sounds like it could be a typical case of police overkill (no pun intended). Since I was not there, however, I have no way of knowing for sure. There is a fairly simple solution to cases like this, however, in which the police are called when old people get emotional and start acting irrational. Back in the days of the Roman gladiators, one of the standard weapons carried by the combatants was a large thick-mesh net. One of the ways of subduing an opponent was to cast the net over him and cinch it tight thus effectively subduing him. Perhaps our men in blue might consider exploring THE NET as a new user-friendly way of subduing folks when they get out of control.
Update
Steve Schmadeke of the Chicago Tribune writes:
A Cook County judge on Friday postponed next week’s trial of a south suburban police officer charged with reckless conduct in the death last year of a 95-year-old World War II veteran.
Craig Taylor, a Park Forest police officer since 2004, was charged in April in connection with the 2013 death of John Wrana, 95.