In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between police and autistic people. Police officers need training to respond appropriately. When they do not -- as recent events have shown -- things get out of hand.
Eustis Police tased a man with severe autism multiple times Saturday in what Police Chief Craig Capris calls a "perfect storm."
"We did everything per policy per protocol per policy people say you tased an autistic man. That’s not true. We tased a felony suspect that wasn’t complying. We later found out he happened to be autistic," Chief Capri told FOX 35 News...;
Officers eventually get the man into handcuffs. A little over four minutes into the video the people start running towards the officers yelling, "We know him! He’s autistic! He’s non-communicative."
It’s the man’s family. They say he has the mental capacity of a toddler.
Officers can be heard explaining that they tased the man, identified as 20-year-old Louis Grahai. He was uncuffed and put in an ambulance.
According to a police report, once officers realized Louis didn’t have the mental capacity to commit a crime, they let him go without pressing charges.
