Story Archive

A Dangerous Man

“The Japanese military couldn’t get him at the age he was touchable, in a uniform in the war. It took 70 years later for the Park Forest [Ill.] police to do the job,” said John Wrana’s family lawyer, Nicholas Grapsas. Wrana, 95, who used a walker, died of internal bleeding after being subjected to beanbag blasts from a shotgun by police. Officers had been called to Wrana’s “supportive living” facility by paramedics; institution staff were trying to send Wrana for medical treatment without his consent. According to police, Wrana wielded a cane and a two-foot shoehorn and refused to drop them; police claim Wrana also had a 12-inch knife, but Grapsas says Wrana’s family and facility staff have denied this. Before using the shotgun, Grapsas says police approached Wrana with a riot shield, and officers say they Tasered him. “We don’t know what occurred,” a police training officer said. “Anyone can be dangerous.” (AC/Chicago Tribune) ...Including cops — especially when they’ve been trained to see the rest of us as threats.