James Philip Chasse, Jr. (May 7, 1964 – September 17, 2006; last name pronounced "cha-see") was an American singer and writer from Portland, Oregon. In 2006 his death while in the custody of Oregon law enforcement officers caused an outcry over civil rights and an examination of the lack of crisis management training given to Portland police officers.[1] At the time of his death, he was living in transitional housing and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.[2]
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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 (even though they had his ID card with his address) and said that he ran away from them and fought with them.[1] He was beaten and shot with a Taser 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.[1][2] The Multnomah County Medical Examiner 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.
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. Portland mayor Tom Potter apologized to the Chasse family, convened a Mental Health Task Force to review the city's policies, and implemented a crisis 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 filmmaker Brian Lindstrom.[3]