There is a disturbing report out of Chicago where police were called when 95-year-old world War II veteran John Wrana refused to go to a hospital for a urinary tract infection. Called by paramedics to assist in getting Wrana into an ambulance, the Park Forest police showed up in riot gear and proceeded to shoot Wrana first with a stun gun and then with a bead bag fired from a shotgun. He no longer needed treatment for the urinary tract problem. He died from internal bleeding and blunt force trauma. He was about to celebrate his 96th birthday.
Wrana was reportedly frail and had difficulty walking. We have previously discussed other cases involving the killing of a bedridden elderly woman and an unarmed suicide case. The cases raise serious questions of the rapid escalation of such cases in the level of force used by police as well as the increasing use of “non-lethal devices” as a first response to threats.
Wrana was living in an assisted-living facility. Paramedics told police that he was threatening them with a metal shoehorn and a knife. Some reports indicate that Wrana had decided that he did not want to go through an operation. That may have been the reason why he was resisting. He said that he understood that not having the operation could kill him but decided against it. It is not clear whether he was declared incompetent before the attempt to force him to go to the hospital.
The family contests the claim of the knife. Even if he had a knife, it is hard to see why police could not stand back (particularly since they had riot shields) and avoid using such force on an individual who clearly would be a risk with either a stun gun or bean bag round. Even if the blunt trauma did not finish him off, the shock could easily trigger a heart attack in a near 96 year old man. Some reports indicate that multiple rounds of bean bags may have been used.
Wrana was U.S. Air Corps veteran who served in Burma and India during World War II. Sergeant Wrana survived the hellish fighting in Burma but would later die in the United States just short of this 96 birthday in a confrontation with police. Truly bizarre.
Just for the record. These bean bag rounds are often thought of as harmless, almost toy-like devices. The bean bags fired form a shotgun will initially travel at around 300-400 feet a second (though they have a range of 70 feet). They have been shown to break ribs and even push broken ribs into the heart. Internal bleeding is a well-known risk.
Blouise, thank you muchly for your additional information and the link to the Chicago Tribune article. The Mail Online article was unclear on which operation would leave him dead or on life support and the clarification was informative.
Here in unincorporated St. Louis County a cop show up with the paramedics to insure that there is no threat to the paramedics, if you don’t want the cop coming in the paramedics don’t have to come in. Over-reach by the government IMO. Coercive in the extreme.
Urinary track? How about urinary tract? Sheesh.
Re: Taking care of your own & family’s healthcare yourself outside the AMA monopoly.
A few of the many cases, in which the parents went to prison for not taking they kids to doctors, the parents were members of the Church of the First Born.
It seems there was one case here in Oklahoma & another in Washington state, both CotFB.
To the journalist(s) who are responsible for this story posted here: don’t you feel any sort of obligation to offer a link to a petition to reply to the authorities responsible for this outrage, and punish those responsible? Just to publish a story of such a clear and dangerous violation of our rights without any recourse to action is insufficient. A journalist is not like a natural scientist observing and reporting on insect behavior. A journalist has a responsibility to help the situation if possible. And with the resources of the Internet, it is more possible than ever before. I ask you please to provide a link to a petition about this. Thanks!
OS,
Have you seen any of the govt’s maps, with the stats on where the cancer clusters in the US are?
Do you have a link?
One is said to be a about 70 mile strip of petro/chemical plants from New Orleans to close to Baton Rouge.
Now it’s rumored that cancer rates are increasing all along the Gulf of Mexico because the BP spill.
I haven’t been through the area.
I’m sure there are also areas around Tulsa that are the same.
Those cancers/illnesses can be shown to be directly related to industrialization.
Even if as a society we decide to except the trade off of industry for health problems industry/royalties should be used to pay for the medical care.
The Dems & Repubs plans never address healthcare in this manner.
They create the problems they give us & now they demand we pay the bill for the injury they’ve caused.
RTC,
Yup. For him. Carol Burnett once described what it was like to deliver a baby. She said to just grab your upper lip with both hands and pull it up over the top of your head.
Interesting fact … The Park Forest Police Department has 42 sworn officers (according to their web site) which means that close to 15% of said officers were involved in the Wrana homicide.
The police officers should be tried for MURDER! No excuses, no defenses. What kind of country have we become that police officers believe that this kind of conduct is acceptable. Police are now threats to human safety and should not be called in an emergency. They cannot be trusted.
I am furious both for the the situation and because I am fairly certain that things are going to get much worse with police. They are being taught that they are all heroes and that that they are the law. We are all at risk.
My heart goes out to this mans family.
OS: I can already see the problem developing here. You’re bringing up end-of-life issues while David’s obsessed with end-of-world issues.
Meanwhile, I think it’s hilarious that he delivers “his” babies at home. Who would have guessed. I’m sure it was smooth sailing the whole way…for him.
There you go, Blouise.
Help with post please … I only used two links and although it is long there are several quotes worth the read. I should have copied it before posting just in case wordpress acted up but failed to do so. It’s too long to do again. If any of you find it and can clear it, I would very much appreciate the effort.
According to the Chicago Tribune’s report on July 28, Mr. Wrana was conscious and talking after the police shot him. He was eventually transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center and it was from this place that the doctor allowed him to speak to his daughter after the doctor told the daughter that he probably wouldn’t survive surgery to correct the damage done to his internal organs by the bean bags.
Sure enough … he died at 2:30 a.m. … “The Cook County medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was hemoperitoneum – bleeding in the stomach area from blunt force trauma from being shot with a bean bag gun.”
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-28/news/chi-autopsy-bean-bag-rounds-fired-by-police-killed-park-forest-man-95-20130728_1_park-forest-man-metal-cane-bean-bag-rounds
If one reads the above link and then the link from Aug 2nd below, one questions the need for 5-7 police in and out of the room and their refusal to allow facility staff to try and calm him down … “staff begged to be allowed to try to calm down the old man” … staff also claimed there was no knife. Paramedics, not the facility staff, were the ones who brought in the Park Forest police.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-02/news/ct-met-kass-0802-20130803_1_butcher-type-kitchen-knife-park-forest-police-taser
According to an article in the Chicago Sun Times written on Sept. 17th … ‘The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide. The Illinois State Police public integrity unit is investigating the incident.” The family is awaiting the results of that investigation before taking further action.
Interesting little side note from that same article … “The SouthtownStar reported last week that the bean-bag gun used against Wrana hadn’t been used on a call in 10 years. (emphasis mine)
Wrana’s last words to his daughter as he spoke to her while the doctor held the phone to his ear that night, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I love you and goodbye.”
David,
A substantial part of my practice is to evaluate people for competency. If a person is competent, no one can force them to do anything medical. It is against the law. Insurance has absolutely nothing to do with it. The misunderstanding came about because of deliberate distortions by Republicans opposed to the ACA. What was proposed was end of life counseling services if people wanted it. In other words, the ACA would pay for a social worker or psychologist to provide information and counseling about living wills, powers of attorney and helping families preplan if worst came to worst. It is better to be prepared and know what your loved one wants rather than be blindsided by an accident or illness and have to make decisions when emotionally distraught.
My (then) 16-year-old grandson was competent to refuse further cancer treatments. His parents and the doctors honored his wishes. He did not want to spend whatever time he had left throwing up his toenails, as he put it. He lived three and a half months after stopping treatments.
End of life issues are a good reason to have both a durable power of attorney and living will. Put your wishes in writing. If it is not in writing, doctors and hospitals are ethically and legally required to use heroic measures, even if you did not want that for yourself. Furthermore, I think eveyone should discuss end of life issues with their whole family and make sure everyone is one the same page. Even the kids should make their wishes known, because accidents and illnesses do happen.
For Elaine and OT
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/09/18/diane-ravitch-school-reform
Elaine, the link is to a 45 minute NPR program, On Point, with Diane Ravitch and a challenger that I thought may interest you. The moderater is mildly annoying, but at least they are not useless “softballs”.
*May be suitable for Nick S as well.
There was the case of Mace Hutchinson in Ozark, MO in 2008. In a TV interview, Capt. Thomas Rousset of the Ozark PD said,
I want to know if anyone would buy a used car, or a used mule, from Capt. Rousset?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjuiiOYdZN4
The investigation concluded that Mace Hutchinson was indeed tasered 19 times. The police department installed $400 Taser-cams on all the Tasers. Not one officer saw any need to “deploy” their Taser in the weeks after the cameras were installed. Imagine that!
The way to achieve the most rehabilitative effect in a lawsuit would be to get the most money out of the largest range of defendants. The two cops obviously, their superior and their Chief (maybe one and the same), the municipality and the insurance carrier if any. Under 42 United States Code Section 1983 we can sue the two “state actors” and then their superior and under the Monell doctrine, the municipality. If the cops conspired with some relative to put the dead guy under the surgeons knife then the conspiracy brings in those people and the statements of any one conspirator can be admitted under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(D)(2) against all defendants. If the taser company proclaimed that the taser was not lethal then they are a defendant. But, taser-all or whatever the company is called would have to be sued under products liability in a separate count. Punitive damages can be had against all but the municipality. If the City Police of Forest Park had a policy on the use of tasers or bean bags then that policy might be used against the city. Plaintiff may explore the notion of went in dumb, come out dumb too. That legal strategy is to allow them to make all their dumb statements about tasers not being lethal and then ask to taser them on video tape in the deposition and then subpoena in their mom for the same test. If they object, then say, “Why? You mom is not 95 and in ill health in need of an ambulance to take her for surgery, what is wrong with a little taser?” When you go to trial subpoena in the taser and the shotgun and bean bags. Have all the photos at dead guy’s autopsy there.
When you get done with them and put the money in the bank then ask their insurance carrier if it has any policy to discuss with the Park Forest Police Department about the use of tasers and bean bag shotgun shells. Ask the Chief of Police at the next Town Council Meeting the same. Ask the taxpayers who will foot the bill the same.
If the dead guy’s heirs read this and want a lawyer then please call BarkinDog. If ya do not want to sue them then listen to itchinBayDog.
Please remain vigilant to follow up on the eventual disposition of this case. I’m curious to see if the police actions are eventually termed “justifiable.”
David, I was going to agree with you up until your last sentence. Pulled another right wing lie out of your nether regions. The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) will do nothing of the sort.
OS wrote: “The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) will do nothing of the sort.”
I hope you are right. As someone who does not desire to engage the medical profession (I even deliver my babies at home without their help), I fear that will not be the case. I think they will make it illegal for me to refuse medical care for me or my family.
” I think they will make it illegal for me to refuse medical care for me or my family.”
That is just flatly wrong. There is nothing in ACA to force you or anyone to accept medical care. ACA, the affordable health care act, does have mechanisms to determine what government mandated programs will pay for. Nothing prevents an individual from arranging private payment for services. ACA does have programs to help institutions identify good practice and to influence institution to follow good practice through compensation rates.
But the idea that the ACA police will force anyone to have a medical procedure that individual refuses is fantasy that does not move the discussion forward.
The situations I have seen, if the if the professional and the individual disagree on a medical procedure, the individual is asked to sign a form that they are acting AMA, against medical advice, and that is the end of it. There is nothing in ACA that will change the right of individuals to refuse medical care.
That is what should have happened in this case. The elder should have been advised of the suggested procedure and potential problems with both continuing or refusing. Unless the elder was incompetent, the elder’s decision should have been honored.
…Foreclosure and evacuation uber ales!!!….