The tragic death of John Wrana shouldn’t happen again

For many reasons, there is nothing to celebrate in the acquittal of Park Forest Police Officer Craig Taylor in the death of John Wrana.

No one has been held accountable for the 95-year-old World War II veteran’s death, and there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the 2013 incident.

Despite the acquittal, Taylor will struggle to have a normal life. A family man of modest means, Taylor still faces a multimillion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit by Wrana’s family.

Although there are no marches, street protests or demands for a federal investigation, an acquittal in a police-involved death is always taken as a slap in the face to the victim’s family members and supporters.

This case is no exception.

After raising questions about why Taylor, a black police officer, was indicted when so many white police officers were not indicted for shooting unarmed black youths, I received a ton of angry responses from people who believed Taylor should go to jail.

But Cook County Associate Judge Luciano Panici did the only thing he could do when he ruled Taylor did not use excessive force.

“There was nothing criminal about his actions,” Panici said in announcing his acquittal.

Despite Wrana’s advanced age, he was threatening police officers with a weapon.

Still, unlike what happened in other recent cases involving white police officers elsewhere, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office decided to prosecute Taylor.

After the acquittal, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez defended her decision.

“I really think other actions could have been taken and more restraint shown,” Alvarez told reporters.

Taylor was charged with criminal reckless conduct for firing five beanbag rounds at Wrana, who was wielding a knife.

Obviously, common sense could have prevented this tragedy.

It is still unclear why trained staff failed to restrain Wrana and called in armed police officers to subdue the elderly man.

Even more troubling, why was Taylor the only police officer charged with a crime since he was following orders from his supervisor?

Taylor was left to shoulder the burden of what turned out to be a bad strategy.

Obviously, Wrana’s family and supporters were devastated by their loss.

They deserved answers about why so many people made bad decisions that day.

But it was unfair to put all of the blame on Taylor when everyone who encountered Wrana apparently failed him.

Frankly, this was a tragedy that could have been avoided had staff members been better trained to deal with combative residents.

Additionally, Wrana’s death set off alarms for every family dealing with an aging loved one.

Because we are worried about the quality of care, many of us are reluctant to put our elderly relatives in senior care facilities despite the hardship it causes when we try to provide care.

What happened to Wrana in a place that was supposed to be a safe haven confirmed our worst nightmares.

It is my hope that this tragedy will motivate officials at other senior care facilities to review their policies regarding how staff handles combative residents.

This senseless tragedy can’t be allowed to happen to anyone else.