Phil Krauss is one of the main antagonists of the 2017 film Detroit.
He is a corrupt and racist police officer who, in addition to not seeing moral limits to achieve what he wants, also does not hesitate to kill people (mainly blacks) if they get in his way.
He was portrayed by Will Poulter, who also played Gally in The Maze Runner and Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Biography[]
Melvin Dismukes, a private security guard, was assigned to protect a grocery store from looters and ingratiated himself with the Guardsmen. Carl Cooper fired several blanks from his pistol in the direction of the troops to frighten them, but they mistook it for a sniper attack and pinpointed it coming from the Algiers Motel due to the pistol's muzzle flash. Led by Krauss, the Michigan State Police, National Guard, and Detroit Police arrived at the motel to investigate. Entering the building, Krause killed Carl when he tried to escape and planted a knife next to his body as he bled out and died.
The police rounded up everyone in the hotel and lined them against the wall, demanding to know who the sniper was. Despite not finding any weapon during a search of the room, Krauss terrorized and interrogated the occupants of the hotel. Melvin Dismukes arrived to try to help. Unwilling to get involved, most of the state police and National Guard left without informing anyone of Krause’s abuse.
Krauss ordered several suspects to be moved to different rooms and subjected to mock executions in order to terrify the others into confessing. One officer, Marty Demens, actually killed Aubrey Pollard, as he did not understand that the executions were supposed to be faked. Julie Ann Hysell and Karen Malloy were taken to an upstairs room, with Julie Ann Hysell's clothes being accidentally torn off. Disgusted, a Guardsman returned and managed to get them released from custody. Fearing arrest, Krauss permitted the remaining three men to leave, but only if they swore to keep silent. Karl Greene and Larry Reed agreed, but Fred Temple was shot twice in the chest by Krauss and Flynn Marko after he persisted in telling them that he saw a body.
Although Krauss, Demens, and Marko were not found guilty of criminal charges, they never returned to active duty. Marko died on September 9, 2011, while Krauss and Demens were arrested on other charges and remain in prison. Years later, a civil court ruled against one of the officers and he was ordered to pay a fine to Pollard's family of $5,000. Soon afterwards he is acquitted of all charges for his crimes.
Victims[]
- Leon
- Carl Cooper
- Fred Temple
- Aubrey (indirectly)
Obviously, the number of people that Krause killed off-screen is probably much higher.
Trivia[]
- This is the second antagonistic role of Will Poulter, with Gally of The Maze Runner being the first.
- Krauss was heavily based on Vice Patrolman David Senak, one of the three officers charged with the murders at the Algiers. Their names and that of their lawyer were changed to avoid a new wave of hate mail for their families.