National

Officer Stands Trial in 95-Year-Old’s Beanbag Shooting Death

Published

10 years ago

January 14, 2015

Park Forest police officer Craig Taylor leaves a courthouse in Markham, Ill., Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, during a lunch break in the first day of his trial. Taylor is accused of acting recklessly by fatally shooting 95-year-old World War II veteran John Wrana with a beanbag gun at close range in an effort to subdue him at the assisted living facility where Wrana lived on July 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Sun-Times Media, Brian Jackson)

DON BABWIN, Associated Press

MARKHAM, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago police officer had better and safer options than to fire beanbags to subdue a confused, knife-wielding 95-year-old World War II veteran, a prosecutor told the court Tuesday at the outset of the officer’s trial on a felony reckless conduct charge in the man’s death.

With all of their police equipment, training and “common sense,” Craig Taylor and the other Park Forest officers didn’t have to storm into John Wrana’s room at an assisted living center on July 26, 2013, Cook County State’s Attorney Lynn McCarthy said during her opening statements. They did so, though, and Taylor ended up firing five beanbags at Wrana, including the fatal one that struck his abdomen and caused internal bleeding, she said.

Taylor’s attorney, Terry Ekl, countered that Taylor did what he was trained to do to subdue a dangerous suspect who was coming at him with a knife. Wrana was determined enough that he kept coming at Taylor with a knife “over his head” until the final shot knocked it from his hand, Ekl told Judge Luciano Panici, who will decide the case.

Taylor, 43, could face up to three years in prison if he’s convicted. His trial comes amid heightened scrutiny of the use of deadly force by U.S. police departments, and there was a strong show of support by Taylor’s fellow officers Tuesday at the courthouse in Markham.

Unlike many criminal trials where there is a disagreement over exactly what happened, the prosecution and defense in Taylor’s trial agreed on the basic facts of the case in their opening statements.

Taylor was one of several officers dispatched to the facility where Wrana lived after a staff member reported that Wrana had become combative with emergency workers.

Wrana had hit a staffer with his cane and was brandishing the cane and a 2-foot long shoehorn. After officers left the room, they soon returned, with one carrying a Taser, another carrying a shield and Taylor armed with a 12 gauge shotgun that shoots beanbags. It was then that Wrana threatened the officers and refused to obey their order to drop a knife he had picked up.

One officer fired the Taser at Wrana, but missed. When Wrana moved toward Taylor with a knife, Taylor fired his weapon five times, according to prosecutors.

All of the shots were fired from no more than 8 feet away, said McCarthy, who told Panici that the “optimum distance” of 15 to 60 feet is spelled out in training standards and reminded the judge that each “projectile struck the 5-feet-five, 150 pound Wrana at about 190 miles per hour.

Wrana died from internal bleeding, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office, which ruled his death a homicide.

One officer who showed to court in support of Taylor said that Taylor’s arrest is confusing to other police officers.

“There’s an outcry now for less lethal force in dealing with subjects and he used less lethal force,” said Mitchell Davis, the police chief in the nearby suburb of Robbins who once worked as an officer in Park Forest and said he knows Taylor. Davis said that while the incident had a “tragic outcome,” he believes Taylor acted properly.

As a result, he said, police officers are watching the case closely. But this case has not generated the kind of emotion that killings of unarmed black men, specifically in New York’s Staten Island and in Ferguson, Mo. Though Taylor is black and Wrana was white, neither attorney suggested race played any role in the shooting. Another factor is that the case is so unusual.

“This is so far afield from other cases that I don’t think it will have any wide ranging effect on police or have be any kind of deterrent to on-duty misconduct,” said Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who has studied and written about police abuse.

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Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

Published

1 day ago

November 1, 2024

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New Filing: Trump’s Attempts to Overturn 2020 Election Were Part of Private Scheme, Not Official Acts

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The filing reveals the extent of Trump’s interactions with figures such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and other senior officials, some of whose names were withheld. Trump persisted with a plan to undercut Joe Biden’s victory despite numerous warnings from people in his circle that his claims of a stolen election were untrue.

Published

4 days ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Jack Smith during a statement regarding the indictment of Donald J. Trump. (Wikimedia Commons)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Special Counsel Jack Smith has delivered a powerful legal blow to former President Donald Trump, unveiling new evidence that the twice-impeached Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were part of a private scheme rather than actions taken in his official capacity as president.

In a 165-page legal brief unsealed Wednesday, Smith provided new details about Trump’s behind-the-scenes maneuvers to subvert the election, including pressure campaigns targeting key officials, attempts to create false electors, and private discussions with his vice president, Mike Pence.

The filing reveals the extent of Trump’s interactions with figures such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and other senior officials, some of whose names were withheld. Trump persisted with a plan to undercut Joe Biden’s victory despite numerous warnings from people in his circle that his claims of a stolen election were untrue.

Smith’s brief is part of a broader strategy to prove that Trump can face trial for his actions, even after a Supreme Court ruling granted him immunity for official acts as president. The special counsel argues that Trump’s efforts to enlist Pence in blocking Congress’s certification of the election results were part of a private, illegal campaign to retain power, not part of his official duties.

“At its core, the defendant’s scheme was a private criminal effort,” Smith wrote in the filing. “In his capacity as a candidate, he used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process.”

The document provides new evidence of Trump’s attempts to sway election officials in critical swing states to alter the results in his favor. The brief quotes a lawyer advising Trump, who gave an “honest assessment” that his claims of widespread fraud would not withstand scrutiny in court. Yet, Trump dismissed the warning. “The details don’t matter,” Trump said, according to the filing.

Further, the brief recounts private conversations between Trump and Pence, in which Pence urged Trump to accept defeat and consider another run in 2024. Trump, however, expressed reluctance, saying, “2024 is so far off.”

Smith’s filing depicts Trump’s actions as part of a desperate and illegal campaign to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. The brief also points to Trump’s reliance on Giuliani and other private allies in his election subversion attempts, asserting that none of these efforts fell under the scope of presidential duties.

“The defendant asserts that he is immune from prosecution for his criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election because, he claims, it entailed official conduct,” the filing reads. “Not so. Although the defendant was the incumbent president during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one.”

A sealed appendix to the legal brief contains FBI interviews, search warrant affidavits, and grand jury testimony that might soon become public. Smith’s filing builds on the indictment released last year, expanding the evidence and reinforcing the argument that Trump’s conduct was criminal and not shielded by presidential immunity.

Smith concluded the brief with an explicit request to the court: “The government respectfully submits that the defendant’s conduct described in this motion is not subject to presidential immunity and that he should face trial for his private acts of subversion.”

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Special Interview: Rep. Barbara Lee Discusses Kamala Harris’ Plan for Black Men

On Oct. 16, California Black Media (CBM) spoke with Harris-Walz campaign surrogate, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), who shared more insights on Harris’ agenda and the importance of securing the Black Male vote. “She has said very clearly that she wants to earn the vote of everyone. And that means earning the vote of Black men,” said Lee of Harris. “She understands the systemic and historic challenges that Black men have. You haven’ t heard of a presidential candidate coming up with a concrete actual plan and policy agenda.” The agenda includes five focus areas based on insights she gleaned from hosting discussions with Black men during her Economic Opportunity Tour.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

(File Photo) U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-13-Oakland) chides Justices on the Supreme Court of the United States for voting to strike down Affirmative Action. She is shown here speaking in front of the California Reparations Task Force in Oakland on May 6, 2023. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey. By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Last week, the Kamala Harris campaign released its Opportunity Agenda for Black Men.

“She has said very clearly that she wants to earn the vote of everyone. And that means earning the vote of Black men,” said Lee of Harris. “She understands the systemic and historic challenges that Black men have. You haven’ t heard of a presidential candidate coming up with a concrete actual plan and policy agenda.”

The agenda includes five focus areas based on insights she gleaned from hosting discussions with Black men during her Economic Opportunity Tour:

Provide 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others disadvantaged groups to start businesses.
Champion education, training, and mentorship programs that help Black men get good-paying jobs in high-demand industries It will also develop more accessible pathways for Black men to become teachers.
Support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets so Black men who invest in and own these assets are protected.
Launch a National Health Equity Initiative focused on Black men that addresses sickle cell disease, diabetes, mental health, prostate cancer, and other health challenges that disproportionately impact them.
Legalize recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in this new industry.

“[Vice President Harris] knows that Black men have long felt that too often their voice in our political process has gone unheard and that there is so much untapped ambition and leadership within the Black male community,” the language in the agenda states. “Black men and boys deserve a president who will provide the opportunity to unleash this talent and potential by removing historic barriers to wealth creation, education, employment, earnings, health, and improving the criminal justice system.”

Diving into Harris’ agenda, Lee says, reminded her of her own record of supporting Black men over the years as an elected official. In the 90’s, she established the first California Commission on African American Males through which she pressured the state to address urgent economic, health and social challenges specific to Black men.

“No group of people are a monolithic group of people,” said Lee She’ s not taking any vote for granted. I’ve known her over three decades and I believe she is being herself. She’ s authentic,” Lee added.

Each of the 5 key points addressed in the Harris Campaign’s agenda, Lee says, has additional clauses that can potentially help Black men and their families thrive. This includes lowering rent; up to $25,000 in downpayment help for first time homebuyers; and cutting taxes for Black men in lower-wage jobs by increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit maximum to $1,500.

“I think the messages is one of empowerment for Black men — regardless of whether they’ re a blue-collar worker, if they’ re not working, if they’ re in business, if they’ re an entrepreneur, whatever background or whatever they’re doing or experiencing life. I think the authenticity of their experience can only be articulated through them,” said Lee.