Cops Attack Black Child with Autism and His Sister

[Quixote1818]

The 14-year-old's mother, Chante Ware, said he was waiting for his siblings and cousins to check out with purchases bought with Easter money, and was thrown to the ground after his sister screamed, “What the (expletive) are you doing? Get the (expletive) off my brother” and “He has autism, he has autism.”

The chaotic scuffle, caught on video by a bystander, escalated with the teen brought to the floor after his 17-year-old sister tried to push the deputy away from him. She was eventually arrested. Another child could be heard crying in the background. As the scene unfolds, the teen's sister repeatedly tells the deputy and men who appear to be plainclothes officers that her brother has autism. She grows more enraged as the situation unfolds and at points grabs the deputy.

More: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Mom-Autistic-son-a-victim-of-racial-profiling-17090413.php?fbclid=IwAR0dXDZJw378LKNrfp9sE1tsoSDs0bgA5HRMjjANSUBN0AbQ2U8JRdGU8J0

[Laffy Kat]

1. This is outrageous.

Poor kids. I hope the city gets sued.

[Swamp Snob]

2. Um, okay, ah, what happened was, uh, like. . .

when the kid showed that he had money, um, well, the cops thought the cash was a gun. Yeah! That's it! For sure!

[quakerboy]

3. I am amazed each day that citizens and bystanders let things like this happen

[wnylib]

6. I was thinking that, too.

It's possible - maybe - that bystanders thought there was some serious crime that the cops were responding to, like maybe the kid was in a gang and was wanted for something. If you see something in progress and don't know the background on it you could be reluctant to get involved. But when his sister identified him as autistic, all physical contact should have stopped immediately. He was no threat to anyone that would warrant the treatment that he and his sister got.

Kudos to that sister for trying to defend her brother.

But, more and more I am thinking that when something like this happens, bystanders should intervene. Without a doubt, if an officer is doing anything life threatening to someone, I believe that bystanders should, as a group, step in to stop it. Get between the cop and the victim, or pull the cop off if necessary.

It looks to me like the store manager wanted the kid out because he didn't like having someone with a disability in the store. Add racism to that and you get the fiasco in the video. Are we such a fascist society now that cops can, with impunity, treat people with disabilities and people of the "wrong race" like criminals just for being in a public place?

I hope the family gets enough donations to hire a lawyer, or, better yet, that a civil rights lawyer takes their case pro bono. Sue the store and the city for enough money to get treatment for the trauma the kids suffered and for the family to buy a house in a safer location.

[pazzyanne]

4. 50% to 80% of the people they have contact with have disabilities?

Seems to me their officers are woefully under trained if they encounter that % of people with special needs! They didn't use minimal, common de-escalation techniques in this situation.

1. say less and say it slowly

2. use specific key words, repeating and stressing them

3. pause between words and phrases to give the person time to process what you’ve said, and to give them a chance to think of a response

4. don’t use too many questions

5. use less non-verbal communication (eg eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, body language)

6. use visual supports (eg symbols, timetables, Social Stories) if appropriate

7. be aware of the environment (noisy/crowded) that you are in. Sensory differences may be affecting how much someone can process.

The boy with autism was handling the situation than the officers. Also the person in charge of the officers was lacking in leadership and public relations skills.

[thucythucy]

5. People with disabilities, especially those who are Black

or otherwise non-white are often targeted by police. People with cerebral palsy are accused of being high or drunk. Deaf people--especially teens and young men--are often mistreated when they don't immediately comply with a spoken command--and only the tiniest minority of cops know ASL.

It happens all the time and has been happening for decades. It's only with the advent of smart phones that the extent of this is becoming known to the non-disabled mainstream.

[happy feet]

7. So, so sick of this

Trump and his ilk escalated and made it okay to devalue black and brown people. I hope the family also sues the manager who, in my view, assaulted the sister. He was not law enforcement and had no right to put his hands on customers.


Sickening.