Former Marine Lance Corporal Brian Easley was shot by a sniper and died on July 7, 2017. He was not killed during his 2003 tour of duty in Kuwait or in his Iraqi tour in 2005. The honorably discharged Marine veteran died in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.
The circumstances leading to his death are now the subject of a movie starring John Boyega, as Easley, and also featuring Michael K. Williams, who recently passed away on September 7, 2021. The movie title is “892”, which is the main request that Easley made before his death.
The “892” represents the total amount of Easley’s disability payment that was withheld by the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Although Easley had readily available access to thousands of dollars, all he wanted was his monthly $892 disability check that he had been receiving from the VBA.
At first glance, this story would appear to be a fictionalized Hollywood movie plot. Unfortunately, this is a true story with a Marine lying dead on the ground in a bank with a sniper’s bullet in his brain.
Since this is a complicated story, I will just cover the main points of the incident. Easley was honorably discharged from the Marines and was receiving disability compensation. The injuries that he incurred in the military caused his life to spiral downward.
In October of 2016, he enrolled in a for-profit strip mall college but missed too many classes to complete the course work. He had been admitted several times to VA mental hospitals and had been sleeping in a car.
In July the VBA withheld his monthly disability compensation of $892 in order to re-coup the tuition that they paid directly to the for-profit college. Easley was residing in a $25 a night motel room and when his disability payment failed to arrive, he panicked because he would be evicted.
First, he called the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) at least eight times asking for his compensation. After his last call, they hung up on him. Next, he visited the Atlanta VA Regional Benefits Office asking for his disability compensation. After receiving no satisfaction, he was handcuffed and escorted from the property.
Finally, after exhausting all contacts with the VA, he walked into a Wells Fargo Bank with a backpack allegedly filled with C-4 explosive. He did not want to rob the Wells Fargo Bank; he just wanted his disability payment so he could pay the rent at the motel.
Easley took all the patrons and bank staff as hostages and after calling the media and 911, he released all the hostages, except the bank manager and a teller. The Cobb County Sheriff’s Department responded with their SWAT Team and took up positions outside the bank.
During the three-hour stand-off, Easley talked to many people explaining what he was doing, but always insisting that the VA give him back his $892 disability compensation. He communicated with a police negotiator and a deal was reached that he would release the teller for a pack of cigarettes.
It appeared, to the negotiator, that the situation was going to be peacefully resolved. However, before the hostage for a pack of cigarettes swap could be completed, a SWAT sniper fired one round into Easley’s brain.
According to subsequent testimony, no order was given to fire the shot and the Cobb County Police were not ready to react to the situation. Upon hearing the shot, an armored police vehicle crashed into the front of the bank to rescue the hostages and the debris almost hit the hostages as they were fleeing the building.
Easley’s backpack was searched and it did not contain any C-4 explosives. He was unarmed. An investigation into the incident was conducted and the SWAT sniper was cleared for his action.
The movie “892” is in post-production and will probably be released in 2022. Film makers have a tendency to alter the facts so at this time I do not know if “892” will be a documentary or a drama based on some facts.
My Opinion: I believe that there could have been other means used to end this situation peacefully and Marine Brian Easley in a VA Mental Facility receiving the treatment that he was entitled to for his military service.
Who is at fault? There are so many people and agencies at fault that they are too numerous to count. But among them, let’s start with the VBA. By garnishing 100% of Easley’s $892 disability compensation, the VBA took all the funds the former Marine had to exist.
I could imagine the panic that Easley felt, let alone try to understand why his disability compensation was withheld. Ironically, if the VBA had only garnished 25% of Easley’s disability compensation, within five months Easley’s debt would have been paid and he would be alive. As of his death, Easley still owed $271 to the VBA which will never be recovered.
Next, I could not understand why he did not receive assistance from the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) especially when he was in a stage of mental distress. I understand that VCL has added a third line since the 2017 incident and this valuable service has significantly improved.
The actions at the Atlanta VA Regional Benefits Office are also hard to comprehend. Easley was in an emotional distressed stage and wanted his disability compensation because he was afraid of being homeless. He had already spent time in a VA Mental Hospital. Instead of the VA working with him, he was handcuffed and escorted out of the VA Facility.
There are certainly others at fault from the Sherriff’s Office to the SWAT Sniper to the VA spokesman who talked to him during the three-hour siege. Easley, himself the primary participant, was at fault for reacting as he did in an attempt to get his $982.
Hopefully, the film director of “982” will present an honest portrayal of the events that occurred. And hopefully Lance Corporal Brian Easley’s death caused fundamental changes to be made in the way the VBA and other agencies operate in the future.
John Plahovinsak is a 32-year retired Army veteran. He currently serves as the Chapter Adjutant of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter #63 (Clermont County).