By Lydia Warren From UK Daily Mail

Artist, 18, who was ‘lauded in Congress’ is killed after police Taser him as she sprays first letter R of his graffiti tag

Israel Hernandez ‘had sprayed three inches of graffiti before the chase’
Officers followed him over fences and when he ran at them, he was Tased once in the chest and pronounced dead an hour later
Friends: ‘They were mocking him after he was Tased’
Hernandez was an award-winning artist who displayed works in galleries
An investigation into his death is underway

A promising teenage artist has died after police Tased him for allegedly spraying graffiti on a wall.

Israel Hernandez-Llach, 18, had sprayed an ‘R’ – the first letter of his artist name, Reefa – on an abandoned McDonalds when police saw him and gave chase in Miami, Florida at 5am on Tuesday.

After officers followed him over fences and down alleys, the teen ran towards them and, fearing a physical alercation, officers Tased the youth to the ground, Police Chief Ray Martinez said.

‘During the foot pursuit, the subject encountered officers face to face… and ignored officers’ commands to stop,’ Martinez said. ‘In order to affect his arrest, an officer deployed his conducted electrical weapon (TASER).

‘The officers were forced to use the Taser to avoid a physical incident.’

He was hit once in the chest and collapsed, and when officers saw he was in distress, he was transported by fire-rescue to Mount Sinai Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 6.15am.

His friends Felix Fernandez and Thiago Souza said they had been serving as lookouts when he was seen by police on Tuesday morning.

They claimed that, after he was captured, they saw the officers push the teenager against a wall and high-five as he lay motionless on the ground.

‘That made me feel terrible inside,’ Fernandez told WSVN. ‘These cops are gruesome, and they don’t really care.’

‘They were making fun of how he tensed up when he got Tased,’ one of the teenagers told CBS Philadelphia.

‘They were just laughing, “You should’ve seen him, you should’ve seen him”.’

An autopsy has been completed but the medical examiner has not yet released a cause of death. The death is also under investigation by the city and the state attorney’s office.

Deaths by Taser are uncommon but not unheard of. Autopsies often find that the victim had been taking drugs or suffered from a pre-existing medical condition, the Miami Herald noted.

Hernandez’s friends told CBS Philadelphia that earlier in the day they had been smoking marijuana and a toxicology test is now being carried out on Hernandez’s body.

‘The city of Miami Beach would like to extend their condolences to the family of Israel Hernandez,’ Martinez said.

The Miami News Times reported that the teenager had only sprayed a few inches of graffiti – which spelled the letter ‘R’ – before he was chased.

Hernandez, who moved from Colombia with his family when he was 13, was already an award-winning artist known in the area for his sculptures, paintings, photographs and graffiti work.

An image on a Facebook page which appears to belong to Hernandez shows a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Congress for his participation in an art competition for high school students. The award is signed by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida U.S. Representative.

Herb Kelly, one of his art teachers at Miami Beach High, said: ‘It was an honor to work with him. He was cutting edge. He had such awesome potential. To lose his life the way he did is tragic.’

The teenager, who was also a skilled skateboarder, had recently launched a line of skateboards that he designed and had art exhibited at various galleries in the city.

‘He wanted to change the world somehow through art,’ Hernandez’s sister, Offir, told the Herald. ‘We want answers. We only want to know what happened.’

The family has hired a lawyer, Todd McPharlin, who said they want an independent investigation.

A protest march to demand answers from the police is being held in the city at 1pm on Saturday.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386823/Promising-artist-18-dies-police-Taser-spraying-graffiti.html

A FRIGHTENING TREND: DEATHS LINKED TO TASER GUN USE

According to Amnesty International, between 2001 and 2008, 351 people in the U.S. died after being shocked by police Tasers. Another report said there were another 190 taser-related deaths in the U.S. between 2009 and 2013, bringing the total to 541.

Critics of Taser guns have argued that the stun device can cause cardiac arrest or heart attacks and subsequently death, even in those who appear healthy. Pre-existing medical conditions or drug use – in association with the shock – have also been blamed for the deaths.

Earlier this week, it was reported that John Wrana, a 95-year-old World War II veteran, died after he was Tased and shot with bean-bag ammo by police after he brandished his cane at officers.

Police had been called to his Chicago assisted living home because he was being combative while being involuntarily committed for medical treatment, it was reported.

Related story from UK Daily Mail

World War II veteran, 95, died after police shot him with TASER and bean bag rounds for ‘threatening care home staff with his CANE’

By Anna Edwards

John Wrana was being ‘involuntarily’ committed for medical treatment
Brandished his cane and a shoehorn and police were called to care home

A 95-year-old world War II veteran died after being Tasered and hit with bean bag rounds by police for threatening care home staff – but his family insist he was killed unnecessarily.

Police say that John Wrana, who lived in a Chicago assisting living home, was brandishing his cane, a metal shoehorn and a knife before officers shocked him and hit him with bean bag rounds.

The senior citizen had been reported to authorities because he was being ‘involuntarily’ committed for medical treatment by staff at the Victory Centre, the Chicago Tribune reported.

He was behaving in ‘combative’ manner, by threatening staff with his cane and a shoehorn. Wrana was reportedly scheduled to undergo a risky surgery, and was apparently afraid to end up on life support.

When police arrived at Park Forest at around 8.45pm, they said he was ordered to surrender, but he refused to and continued to berate staff and threaten them.

Officers claim he then picked up a 6-inch knife, but his family’s attorney alleges that care home staff did not see him do this, The Blaze reported.

He was then shocked by a Taser, hit with rounds of bean bag ammunition, and was taken into custody and then to hospital.

Staff claimed that he was sitting in a chair during the row, suggesting that the force used by authorities might not have been warranted, according to The Blaze.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Mr Wrana was conscious when he was taken to St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Chicago Heights.

But he was then moved to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at about 2.30am.

The Southtown Star reported that an autopsy found the war veteran died from being shot in the stomach with the 12-gauge shotgun with bean-bag ammo.

The incident was ruled as a homicide by the medical examiner, The Blaze reported.

According to the Wrana family lawyer, Nicholas Grapsas, the 95-year-old was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Corps in the rank of a sergeant after fighting in India and Burma. During his service in the Pacific, he was shot down once.

After the war, the Massachusetts native moved to California and got into real estate before settling in Glenwood, Illinois.

His wife of more than 30 years, Helen, passed away in 2005. The veteran lived with his 74-year-old stepdaughter, Sharon Mangerson, until his health took a turn for the worse.

An autopsy found that the 95-year-old man died from internal bleeding after being shot in the stomach from a bean-bag gun.

Grapsas and Wrana’s stepdaughter have questioned the official version of events laid out by police, insisting that the elderly man was sitting in his chair the entire time, and neither his family nor staff ever saw a butcher knife in his room.

‘The Japanese military couldn’t get him at the age he was touchable, in a uniform in the war,’ Grapsas told the Tribune. ‘It took 70 years later for the Park Forest police to do the job.’

Grapsas said he was told that between five and seven responding officers came armed with a riot shield commonly used in demonstrations to enter Wrana’s room before shooting him in the stomach.

His stepdaughter described the 95-year-old as a fiercely independent and vital man who still enjoyed playing cards.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Wrana was scheduled to undergo an operation. On the night of the tragic incident, his doctor told Margenson over the phone that even if he survives the surgery, her stepfather will likely end up on life support.

Wrana than got on the phone with Sharon, thanked her for everything she has done for him and told her he loved her before saying goodbye and hanging up. That was the last she’s heard of him.

Mr Wrana’s family are now deciding whether to file a lawsuit, according to their attorney.

‘This was a literal war hero,’ Mr Grapas said.

‘It’s outright insulting when you have such lack of respect for someone who served our country to the extent he did.’

The Victory Centre is a 112-apartment supportive living community for adults 65 and older, it’s website says.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2385926/War-veteran-John-Wrana-95-dies-police-shoot-Taser-bean-bag-rounds.html