Cook County prosecutors have charged a Park Forest police officer with felony reckless conduct after the death of a 95-year-old resident of a senior citizen home.
The charges were filed against Officer Craig Taylor. Taylor shot five beanbag rounds at the elderly man with a shotgun after the man allegedly wielded a knife. The senior citizen, John Wrana, began bleeding internally and died the next day.
Police were called to the senior citizen home in Park Forest after Wrana allegedly threatened other residents and struck a medical technician with his cane. The technician was attempting to transport Wrana to a hospital where a psychiatric evaluation was to be conducted. When police were called, Wrana allegedly threatened to stab officers with a knife.
Taylor’s attorney stated that the officer was acting on behalf of his superiors and was not making unilateral decisions about how to handle the standoff.
An attorney for Sharon Mangerson (Wrana’s stepdaughter) said that the family was glad that Taylor had been arrested and that he should have been charged with the more serious crime of involuntary manslaughter. The lawyer stated that the family would “likely” file a wrongful death lawsuit but would wait for the outcome of the criminal case.
In court, a prosecutor said that the officers made the decision to attempt a violent extrication within seven minutes of arriving at the senior citizen home, and that other viable options to resolve the situation were ignored.