- James Chasse
James Philip Chasse, Jr. (1963 –
September 17 2006 ; last name pronounced "cha-see") was an American singer and writer. In 2006 his death while in the custody ofOregon law enforcement officers caused an outcry over civil rights and an examination of the lack of crisis management training given to Portland police officers.cite web|url=http://wweek.com/editorial/3252/8148/|title=Why Did James Chasse Jr. Die?|publisher=Willamette Week |date=2006-11-01|accessdate=2008-03-18]Life
Chasse had
schizophrenia , and by accounts lived a quiet and peaceful life.cite web|url=http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2006/11/art_and_jim_jim.html|title=James Chasse Jr., artist and model|publisher=PortlandArt.net|date=2006-11-12|accessdate=2008-03-18]Chasse was the inspiration for "Alien Boy", from The
Wipers ' first album, "Is This Real? "cite web|url=http://www.zenorecords.com/jimjim/jim.htm|title=Jim Jim "James Chasse"|publisher=Zeno Records|date=2006-11-12|accessdate=2008-03-18] He was singer for the jazz-punk groupOpossum Society , and editor/writer for the punk zine "Organizm. "Fact|date=November 2007Death
Chasse died after a physical confrontation with three Portland and Multnomah County police officers on
September 17 2006 . Officers at the scene described Chasse as a homeless person, and said that he ran away from them and fought with them.The Multnomah County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death to be "accidental" though Chasse suffered 16 broken ribs, a broken shoulder and
sternum , and massive internal injuries. He was shot with aTaser mulitple times. After the fight, Chasse was cleared medically by fire and ambulance personnel. He was then restrained and driven to jail where nursing staff refused to admit him because of his obvious injuries. The officers were told by jail staff to drive him to a hospital across town. He died en route.Over 500 friends and family members remembered James at a candlelight vigil and memorial on
October 14 ,2006 .Public outcry
The death of Chasse produced an outcry in the Oregon media with hundreds of news stories, editorials and front page articles following the case, and from civil rights and health advocates. Although Multnomah County District Attorney
Michael Schrunk failed to bring an indictment against the officers, he did release all testimony presented to the grand jury. Portland mayorTom Potter apologized to the Chasse family, convened a Mental Health Task Force to review the city's policies, and implemented aCrisis Intervention Training program to improve the way in which city and county police respond to situations involving mental illness.A documentary film, "
Alien Boy ", is being made about James Chasse by Oregon filmmakerBrian Lindstrom .References
External links
* [http://jameschasse.blogspot.com/ What Happened to James Chasse] - a compendium of documents and articles about the killing of James Chasse
* [http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/ Portland CopWatch]
* [http://www.alienboy.org/ Alien Boy] - a documentary film project about James Chasse
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