James Philip Chasse, Jr. (May 7, 1964 – September 17, 2006; last name pronounced "cha-see") was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer and writer from Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. In 2006 his death while in the custody of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 law enforcement officers caused an outcry over civil rights and an examination of the lack of crisis management training given to Portland police officers. At the time of his death, he was living in transitional housing and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Death

Chasse died after a physical confrontation with three Portland and Multnomah County

Multnomah County, Oregon

Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...

 police officers on September 17, 2006. Officers at the scene described Chasse as a homeless person (even though they had his ID card with his address) and said that he ran away from them and fought with them. He was beaten and shot with a Taser

Taser

A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...

 multiple times. After the beating, 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 injuries. The officers were told by jail staff to drive him to a hospital across town. He died en route.

Chasse suffered fractures in 16 of his ribs and had a total of 26 broken bones, as well as a punctured lung. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner

Coroner

A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...

 ruled the cause of death to be "blunt force trauma".

Over 500 friends and family members remembered Chasse at a candlelight vigil and memorial on October 14, 2006.

Public outcry

Chasse's death 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

Grand jury

A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...

. Portland mayor Tom Potter

Tom Potter

Tom Potter is the former Mayor of the city of Portland, Oregon in the United States. He was elected in 2004, and left office in January 2009. He was succeeded by City Commissioner Sam Adams. Prior to Potter's service as mayor, he was Portland's police chief....

 apologized to the Chasse family, convened a Mental Health Task Force to review the city's policies, and implemented a crisis intervention training

Crisis intervention training

"Crisis Intervention Team Training" is a training program developed in a number of U.S. states to help police officers react appropriately to situations involving mental illness or developmental disability....

 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 filmmaker Brian Lindstrom

Brian Lindstrom

Brian Lindstrom is an award-winning filmmaker working in both narrative and documentary modes. He is best known for Finding Normal, his cinema-verite documentary following three long-term addicts trying to rebuild their lives with the help of peer counselors. Lindstrom made the film for $5,000,...

.