Police are waiting for an autopsy to determine the cause of death of a 95-year-old Park Forest nursing home resident who died several hours after a confrontation with officers, reports WBBM’s Mike Krauser.
Park Forest Police say in a statement they were called to a Victory Centre nursing home at 101 Main Street to assist a private ambulance company with what they say was a combative 95-year-old male resident who was being involuntarily committed for medical treatment.
According to the statement, arriving officers were confronted by the man identified as John Warna who was threatening paramedics and staff with a metal cane and a two-foot long metal shoehorn. Police say he would not drop the items and instead produced a foot-long butcher knife.
Again police say he refused to comply with verbal commands to drop it and they used a Taser which was ineffective. Officers then used non-lethal beanbag rounds and the man dropped the weapon and was taken into custody.
Police say he was alert and talking before being taken to a local hospital. He was then transferred to Christ Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m.
Neighbors say there had to be a better way to get the man to stop waving his cane and brandishing the knife.
“If they were smart policemen, one could have got in the front of that man and one could have went through back door and thrown a sheet over him, put him down and put the cuffs on him before they shot him,” said neighbor David Atkins.
Administrators at Victory Centre say they’d never had any problems with the resident.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as we mourn the loss of one of our own,” said Emily Powell, Victory Centre Executive Director.