“On Sept. 17, 2006 James Chasse was stopped by three law enforcement officers in Portland, Oregon in broad daylight. A dozen eyewitnesses watched in horror as the officers tackled, beat, kicked, and tasered James until he lay motionless on the pavement with 16 broken ribs and a punctured lung. He died in the custody of Portland police about two hours later.
“James had not committed a crime, so why did the officers attack him? Who was James Chasse? The officers told eyewitnesses he was a drug dealer, a homeless person, a non-person, a ghost. But that wasn’t true at all. James was a writer, an illustrator, and a musician; he had a home and a family and friends who loved him. He was a small, shy, gentle person who had been living with schizophrenia for most of his life.”
–excerpted from the website for ALIEN BOY, directed by Brian Lindstrom
