Police officer says World War Two vet he shot was threat

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Police officer says World War Two vet he shot was threat

BY AGNIESZKA ZIELINSKA
MARKHAM, Ill. Fri Jan 16, 2015 5:59pm EST

(Reuters) - The Chicago-area police officer who fatally shot a 95-year-old World War Two vet with a bean bag gun feared for his life when he confronted the knife-wielding man at a nursing home, the officer's lawyer told a court on Friday.

In closing arguments, prosecutors told the court in the Chicago suburb of Markham that Craig Taylor, 44, an officer in the suburb of Park Forest, could have found a more peaceful way to defuse the situation and should be found guilty of reckless conduct in the 2013 death of John Wrana, Jr.

"John Wrana was absolutely not an imminent threat," the state argued, but "a confused old man." He had been shot with five bean bag rounds at a distance of five to six feet, with experts saying the rounds traveled about 190 miles per hour.

If convicted, Taylor, who was in the company of other officers when he fired a shotgun loaded with bean bag rounds, faces up to three years' imprisonment.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/16/us-usa-illinois-police-death-idUSKBN0KP1A020150116

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

1. I accidentally had on an episode of "Cops" this morning for about two minutes, before I could find

the remote and change it, and in that two minutes I saw a cop badgering and yelling at a woman for not getting down the stairs quick enough for his liking.


We have a real serious problem with cops, most of em are a problem

[easychoice]

2. he was afraid of a 95yr. old?

He was in the company of other cops and he had to kill the guy?
I didn't hear any of the other cops tried to stop him either.What a bunch of cowards.Bullies and cowards.

[99th_Monkey]

3. Any Cop who is so afraid of a 95 year old Vet or a 12 year old kid

that they feel compelled to murder them,
that cop is not fit for the police profession.

These stories keep getting weirder and weirder,
cops being SO scared of their own shadows,

That they get projected onto helpless kids,
confused geezers, or anyone of color who
looks like an easy target.

Bullies who like to push people around, talk tough,
be a complete asshole just because they can.

This makes me very sad, and I want to puke.

[sheshe2]

7. ^^^^This^^^^

This!

My dad just passed. A WW2 vet. Nursing home. Yes, they can get agitated and scared when people approach. They are old and they get scared. My dad was hard of hearing and at the end stages of Alzheimer. Would they have shot him? Probably.

The people at the nursing home treated him with respect. To bad the police do not know any respect or restraint. They are all paid professionals. Sadly the police act like scared children. DAMN IT!

[lpbk2713]

4. Could a 95 yo nursing home patient hold a knife firmly enough to do any harm?

WTF? Unless it was something the patient acquired from outside the
home, most likely it was a plastic butter knife from his meal tray.
And do they routinely send several officers armed with shotguns on
nursing home calls?

[sorefeet]

5. I'm 62 and positive I could have disarmed

the old guy with no one getting hurt. And I would not think of him as an imminent threat, but as a confused old man who needed help.. The cop is a coward and I hope he goes to jail.

[IcyPeas]

6. here's a video from Young Turks regarding this