Bakersfield CA police shoot 73-year-old man with dementia. No gun recovered. #DisabilitySolidarityhttps://t.co/IqoZTVnmIA pic.twitter.com/NmPxSjP3Sv— David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) December 13, 2016
I’m working on a piece on elderly individuals killed or beaten by police. Here’s four stories from NY, IL, CA, and AL – which is to say spanning the country.
- Francisco Serna: Dementia, 73, Latino, carrying a crucifix, out for a walk.
- Deborah Danner: Schizophrenia, 66, Black, naked and armed with a knife, in her apartment.
- Sureshbhai Patel: Didn’t speak English, 57, Indian, unarmed but deemed noncompliant, in front of his son’s house.
- John Wrana: Dementia, 95, White, allegedly holding a knife, in a nursing home.
These cases follow the same patterns as the shootings of many other disabled people, but due to their age, allow for different kinds of persuasive arguments.
More to come. What cases should be added to this set?