In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between police and autistic people. When cops encounter autistic people, they may not respond in the same way as NT people, and things can get out of hand. Among other things, they may misinterpret autistic behavior as aggressive or defiant. Training could help.
A Chester County autism advocate is on a mission to visit as many police departments as he can to spread awareness on autism spectrum disorder.
Alex Mann, 26, from Malvern, Pennsylvania, has spent the last seven and a half years traveling the country, teaching police officials how to interact with people on the autism spectrum. As of August 2026, Mann has been to 539 police departments across five states.
Mann, who is diagnosed with autism, said he understands how people on the autism spectrum may respond during encounters with law enforcement.
He said some people may become overwhelmed by police presence, may not respond to commands like "stop," or avoid making eye contact with an officer.
"Autistic behavior can be, is, misinterpreted by law enforcement. Where really, law enforcement just needs to sort of take a step back and realize that there may be something else going on," Mann said.
Recently, NBC10's Matt DeLucia joined Mann on one of his visits, this time to the Bridgeton Police Department in New Jersey, where he offered his expertise to the department's chief and other officers.
"Hearing his message, it kind of hit home for me and I just I connected with it. The impact, I'm hoping, is if an officer comes upon an autistic individual, to have a very smooth and hopefully non-harmful or violent interaction with them," Bridgeton Police patrolman Nicholas Grusemeyer said.
