Alien Boy

Recently I attended a great film at the international film festival in Portland, Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse.  Many of you may recognize this name, as his life and death took place here in Portland.  James was my cousin, so I feel an obligation to share a little about him, the film, as well as how it relates to global health here in the US.  James was a schizophrenic who was brutally tackled, beaten, and tased by members of the Portland Police Department.  This all occurred during the afternoon of September 17th 2006, across from Blue Hour restaurant in the Pearl District, resulting in his death from internal bleeding later that night.

James was a unique soul who bordered the line of genius but fell into the box of schizo.  He has been credited in the introduction of the punk rock movement to Portland, was a beautiful artist and comic, and one of those individuals that glowed with inspiration and understanding.  Stigmatizing of mental illness led to his misrepresentation, misunderstanding, exile, and isolation from his community over the last 30 years of his life. This led to a lack of regulation in his activity, little to no over-sight in his medication intake, and the common narrative of a person who falls through cracks of an exhausted mental illness infrastructure.

Whether James had the self-regulation to control his meds or not, he wandered the streets of Portland most of his life looking like - and living like - a common homeless person, or even a drug addict.  He wasn't though...he was sick. Earlier in his life he was beaten by the police (little to no record of this), which caused great anxiety around officers of the law. When police witnessed him "urinating" they assumed the worse and tackled his 145lb body to the ground, breaking 26 bones in 16 ribs after a onslaught of body shots used in gang initiations, tasing him so he would stop from screaming, "Help me, help me." These facts are all part of the public record, photographed and told by civilians, and supported by surveillance footage.  

James was mistreated in so many ways, ranging from police brutality, mishandling of the mentally ill, and lack of communication between police and medics that it was a clear violation of human rights. This film brings a strong awareness of significant problems with the way we live our lives, with people suffering from mental illness.  Light is shown through this documentary on parts of the infrastructure that create harmful environments for our family, friends, and community that suffer.  

The film is playing at Cinema 21 on NW 21st Ave. for an extended period of time.  All money made from sales and merchandising goes directly to Oregon Mental Health Foundation and efforts to share this telling documentary in film festivals across the world.   

In his death, although sad and unforgettable, change has occurred for the better and change will continue to occur through our advocacy efforts. 

Thank you,

Brandon