In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between police and autistic people. Police officers need training to respond appropriately. When they do not, things get out of hand.
Deborah Choe at WOFL-TV in Orlando:
"You just Tased an autistic kid, bro!"
An emotional video is making its way around social media after a neighbor recorded what happened in their Cocoa, Florida neighborhood.
On Dec. 22, Brevard County deputies responded to 4022 Lake Circle after a 911 caller reported seeing a man with a knife. When deputies arrived, they said they found Jarquez Johnson walking around the property, moving his right hand up and down several times.
The case report reads, "One deputy told Johnson several times to drop the knife, as they addressed him at gunpoint. Johnson did not drop the knife nor did he respond to any of the verbal commands."
After several commands, they Tased him, after which he dropped to the ground and was placed in handcuffs. In the video, you can hear the neighbor, Teena Crawford, screaming at deputies for several minutes, "He has autism!"
A knife was never recovered.
