Governor Kemp Signs Rio's Law

In The Politics of Autism, I write:

[M]any police departments have trained officers and other first responders how to spot signs of autism and respond accordingly.  Some organizations have also published identification cards that ASD adults can carry in order to defuse potential conflicts. Virginia provides for an autism designation on driver licenses and other state-issued identification cards. Once again, however, the dilemma of difference comes into play. One autistic Virginian worries: “Great, so if I get into an accident, who’s the cop going to believe, the guy with the autistic label or the guy without it?” Clinical psychologist Michael Oberschneider is concerned about the understanding level of first responders: “I think many people still think of Rain Man or, more recently, the Sandy Hook Shooter, when they think of autism even though very few people on the autistic spectrum are savants or are homicidal and dangerous.”

A May 5 release from Georgia State Senator Brian Strickland:

This week, Sen. Brian Strickland (R–McDonough) celebrated Governor Brian Kemp’s signing of Senate Bill 433, also known as “Rio’s Law.” This landmark legislation aims to improve interactions between law enforcement officers and individuals with autism spectrum disorder or developmental disabilities.

Authored by Sen. Strickland, the bill creates a voluntary specialized license plate designation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder or developmental disabilities and their families, and requires specialized training for Georgia peace officers beginning January 1, 2027.

“Today is a major step forward for families across Georgia who simply want safer, more informed interactions with law enforcement,” said Sen. Strickland. “Rio’s Law is about compassion, understanding and ensuring officers have the tools and training necessary to recognize and appropriately respond to individuals with developmental disabilities. This legislation has been one of my top priorities because these families deserve to feel seen, protected and supported.”

Under SB 433, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council will work alongside the Department of Community Health, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and nonprofit organizations to develop training on effective communication, behavioral recognition, de-escalation techniques and emergency response protocols involving individuals with autism spectrum disorder or developmental disabilities.

“Rio’s Law represents the kind of thoughtful, people-centered policy that can make a real difference in everyday lives,” Sen. Strickland added. “I’m grateful to my colleagues in both the Senate and House for unanimously supporting this effort, and I thank Governor Kemp for signing it into law.”

Senate Bill 433 takes effect on January 1, 2027. You can find more information about the measure here.

Police Training in California

 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.

Corinne Purtill at LAT:

[Kate] Movius, founder of the consultancy Autism Interaction Solutions, is one of a growing number of people around the U.S. working to teach law enforcement agencies to recognize autistic behaviors and ensure that encounters between neurodevelopmentally disabled people and law enforcement end safely.

She and City of Industry Mayor Cory Moss later passed out bags filled with tools donated by the city to aid interactions: a pair of noise-damping headphones to decrease auditory input, a whiteboard, a set of communication cards with words and images to point to, fidget toys to calm and distract.

...

As early as 2001, the FBI published a bulletin on police officers’ need to adjust their approach when interacting with autistic people.

“Officers should not interpret an autistic individual’s failure to respond to orders or questions as a lack of cooperation or as a reason for increased force,” the bulletin stated. “They also need to recognize that individuals with autism often confess to crimes that they did not commit or may respond to the last choice in a sequence presented in a question.”

But a review of multiple studies last year by Chapman University researchers found that while up to 60% of officers have been on a call involving an autistic person, only 5% to 40% had received any training on autism.

In response, universities, nonprofits and private consultants across the U.S. have developed curricula for law enforcement on how to recognize autistic behaviors and adapt accordingly.

The primary goal, Movius told deputies at November’s training session, is to slow interactions down to the greatest extent possible. Many autistic people require additional time to process auditory input and verbal responses, particularly in unfamiliar circumstances.

Examples of Police Shootings

 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.

The killing of Victor Perez is just one example.

Deon J. Hampton at NBC:

For many advocates, Perez’s killing called to mind other examples of young people with autism who have been killed by police. Ryan Gainer, 15, was killed in March 2024 after charging toward a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy while holding a 5-foot-long garden tool.

Deputies were responding to a 911 call from the home that the teen had been “actively assaulting family members” and damaging property.

After the shooting, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a statement, “Our social safety net for those experiencing mental illness needs to be strengthened.”

In February, Chase de Balinhard, a 15-year-old with autism, was killed by police in Vancouver, Canada, when they responded to an emergency call about an armed person in distress. Police saw the child holding a gun; it was later determined that he was carrying a pellet gun.

Eric Parsa, 16, was killed when sheriff’s deputies in Louisiana, responding to the teen’s mental crisis at a shopping center, pinned him down for nine minutes in 2020.

An officer sat on the teen’s rear end for about seven minutes, after which another deputy took his place. Eventually, seven deputies were “sitting on, handcuffing, shackling, holding down, or standing by E.P. as he was restrained and held face down on his stomach against the hard surface of the parking lot,” the station reported citing a lawsuit filed by the family.

Autistic Kid Dies After Police Shooting

 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.

MARTHA BELLISLE and REBECCA BOONE at AP:

An autistic, nonverbal teenage boy who was shot repeatedly by Idaho police from the other side of a chain-link fence while he was holding a knife died Saturday after being removed from life support, his family said.

Victor Perez, 17, who also had cerebral palsy, had been in a coma since the April 5 shooting, and tests Friday showed that he had no brain activity, his aunt, Ana Vazquez, told The Associated Press. He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg.

Police in the southeast Idaho city of Pocatello responded to a 911 call reporting that an apparently intoxicated man with a knife was chasing someone in a yard. It turned out to be Perez, who was not intoxicated but walked with a staggered gait due to his disabilities, Vazquez said. His family members had been trying to get the large kitchen knife away from him.

Report on the Need for Police Training

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.

At the PBS NewsHour, Judy Woodruff reports on why police still lack training to effectively respond to people with disabilities.  The report starts with the story of Eric Parsa, an autistic youth died in 2020 at the hands of sheriff’s deputies in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

 

Full transcript here.

California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has a publication titled A FIRST RESPONDER’S GUIDEvFOR PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESSvOR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY

Autistic People and First Responders, School Employees, and Healthcare Professionals

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between first responders and autistic people.  Some jurisdictions allow autistic drivers to ask for a blue envelope to disclose the driver's diagnosis in case of an accident or traffic stop.  Others have ID cards.

Lauren Jones at The Henrico [VA] Citizen:

A bill aimed at enhancing professional development opportunities for school employees and healthcare professionals working with students with autism spectrum disorder passed the Senate and House unanimously.

SB1293 , proposed by Sen. William Stanley, R-Franklin County, directs the Board of Education to provide guidance and optional yearly training for staff who regularly interact with students, helping them communicate with and support those with autism.

Stanley emphasized the need for the bill, noting a lack of training among educators and healthcare professionals when working with autistic students.

Christine Sloan at CBS New York:

New Jersey residents on the autism spectrum can soon apply for a designation on their driver's license or ID to help them with interactions with police.

The notation will appear as the number 5 in the "Restrictions" section of an ID.

They'll also be issued a Motor Vehicle Commission "pink card" describing their diagnosis, which must be carried with the license or ID card.

"So law enforcement, when they interact with them, they know how to treat them with respect and make sure that everyone can be treated safely," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.

The card includes a designation section, with boxes to check such as "autism spectrum," "communication disorder" and "disorder hearing aid." It also has a restriction section, with boxes such as "hearing impaired," "mechanical aid," "prosthetic aid" and more.

 KNXV-TV

On Saturday, cops went to the Greater Phoenix Autism Society to bridge the gap between individuals with autism and local law enforcement.

Emily Iland is an autism advocate who leads similar educational initiatives across the country and helped make the "Be Safe" movie which shows different types of interactions people can have with law enforcement.

"It’s hard for people with autism to relate with the police because of the communication and social difficulties that are part of autism,” Iland said.

Grant Kirwan was a participant in the “Be Safe” program, getting paired up with a cop from Gilbert.

“My journey with autism has been a rollercoaster. I, for example, have struggled with loud noises,” Kirwan said.

Training Police in Illinois

 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.

Maddie Franz at WQAD-TV:

Illinois law enforcement will soon be trained on how to interact with people with autism. That's thanks to a law that went into effect on Jan. 1.

According to the Autism Society, between 30% and 50% of all people killed by police have autism or other disabilities. It also estimates 20% of autistic kids have been stopped and questioned by age 21 — almost 5% have been arrested.

Eric Sommers, president of the Autism Society of the Quad Cities, said that's something the law could help.

"If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism," Sommers said.

Every person on the autism spectrum is different. Some struggle to communicate with others, some panic in intense situations and others can't speak.

"All those situations could impact an interaction with law enforcement or first responders," Sommers said.

 He said those difficulties can result in violent outcomes during police interactions.

"Large amounts of force have been used against autistic individuals when they were not able to comply because they either didn’t understand the directions given to them or couldn’t react in what would be an appropriate manner," Sommers said. "There’s a lot that falls on the individual in those situations to react in the appropriate way, but when certain things are preventing those communications from taking place, it’s hard in that moment to capture that."

But with the new Illinois law, Sommers hopes those outcomes will be less common.
He said the training can build trust in the autism community and give police the tools they need.

Autistic Teen Dies After Abuse by Jail Guards

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between the justice system and autistic people.

Erin Glynn and Laura A. Bischoff at the Columbus Dispatch:

Inside the Montgomery County Jail, guards taunted, belittled and threatened Isaiah Trammell, a 19-year-old who had autism spectrum disorder.

Deputies on the overnight shift told Trammell he was "ridiculous," "embarrassing" and "acting like an ass," surveillance video shows. Officers strapped Trammell into a restraint chair two separate times and threatened more time in the chair if he didn’t calm down.

Trammell couldn’t calm himself. He banged his head on the cell door, howled and repeatedly screamed “Let me out!”

Head-banging or other self-injury behaviors are more prevalent among people with autism. For Trammell, it was a dangerous coping mechanism that he continued during his brief time in jail.

“You remember how that restraint chair felt? Remember what the sergeant said? You're gonna go in for 10 hours next time you go in there. You want to do that?" one officer told Trammell, hours after he had been released from the chair the first time.

One officer said they couldn't use the restraint chair, prompting another to respond: “Just put the chair in front of his (expletive) cell so he stops. Give him a constant reminder.”

The restraint chair is supposed to be a last resort, only used in extreme circumstances and when the safety of the incarcerated person or others is in danger. Staff are supposed to use other interventions first, such as offering medication.

Trammell begged for his medications, a phone call and a blanket. No one heeded his pleas.

Less than 10 hours after entering jail, Dayton paramedics loaded Trammell into an ambulance.

He died three days later. The coroner ruled it a suicide − a ruling Trammell's mother wants changed.

Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said Trammell shouldn’t have been in jail, given his mental health issues.

Trammell's case isn't an outlier. A USA TODAY Network Ohio investigation found that most of the 16,000 people in Ohio jails each day suffer from mental illness.

Police Training in South Carolina

 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.

Michaela Leggett at WHNS-TV reports on police training in Greenville County, South Carolina.

Autism Cards in Suffolk County, New York

In The Politics of Autism, I write:

[M]any police departments have trained officers and other first responders how to spot signs of autism and respond accordingly.  Some organizations have also published identification cards that ASD adults can carry in order to defuse potential conflicts. Virginia provides for an autism designation on driver licenses and other state-issued identification cards. Once again, however, the dilemma of difference comes into play. One autistic Virginian worries: “Great, so if I get into an accident, who’s the cop going to believe, the guy with the autistic label or the guy without it?” Clinical psychologist Michael Oberschneider is concerned about the understanding level of first responders: “I think many people still think of Rain Man or, more recently, the Sandy Hook Shooter, when they think of autism even though very few people on the autistic spectrum are savants or are homicidal and dangerous.”

Jennifer McLogan at WCBS-TV in New York:

Suffolk County law enforcement officers are now equipped with a tool to help people on the autism spectrum during potentially stressful encounters. It was designed by a young man from Long Island, who is on the spectrum himself.

Christopher Cortale, a receptionist at the Winters Center for Autism in West Babylon, helped design an emergency card to foster communication in stressful situations.

At the top, the card reads, "Please be patient. I have autism. Please point to the pictures to help me understand what you want." Underneath are photos of a driver's license, registration, insurance and weapons.

The card also includes photos and captions violations for officers to indicate if the individual with autism is being warned, ticketed or arrested, and reasons, such as license plate, tail light, speed limit, stop sign or several others.

The bottom of the card has a section titled "I need help" with photos indicating low fuel, flat tire, hospital, emergency contact, tow truck and lost.

 

Wrongful Death

 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.

Hannah Fry at LAT:

The family of Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old boy with autism who was shot and killed by San Bernardino County sheriff‘s deputies outside his Apple Valley home this month, has filed a wrongful death claim against the county, attorneys announced during a news conference on Thursday.

The claim, which signals that the family plans to sue the county, says legal action could focus on allegations of assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“Under no circumstances should a 15-year-old autistic boy with a gardening hoe be shot and killed without taking the time to calm the boy down before using deadly force,” John Burris, a civil rights attorney who is among those representing the family, said in a prepared statement. “The police conduct was unreasonable.”

Cristy Fajardo at Fox Local:

"They have blood on their hands because they shot and killed and slaughtered a young boy who really wasn't fully capable of appreciating what the police were trying to do to him," said family attorney John Burris.

Burris says the body cam footage shows a series of mistakes.

At first, the deputy yells out, which is known to agitate people with autism. When Gainer appears with a hoe in his hand, the deputy pulls out his gun, which they say would also scare a person on the spectrum.

"They had options. They had tasers, they had pepper spray," he explained.

The family's attorney said just before the shooting, a cousin made a second call to 911 to say that the situation had resolved itself and that Ryan had settled down. They want to know if that information was passed along to the deputies, and if the deputy who fired had been to the home before. They say they're hoping to get those answers as part of the lawsuit.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department wouldn't comment, citing pending litigation. But Sheriff Shannon Dicus did address the media following the shooting.

"Yes, our deputies do carry tasers. So you actually hear, Ryan's family say, why didn't you use a taser? Those techniques don't always work. And when you're talking time and distance and making these critical, life-threatening decisions, particularly with somebody coming down with the deadly weapon on you," Dicus said at a press conference.

Deputy Fatally Shoots Autistic Teen

 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, and respond with tasers, batons, chokeholds, or worse. Training could help.

Hannah Fry at LAT:

Ryan Gainer, a teen with autism, was a cross-country runner who worked out his frustrations with six-mile runs and dreamed of becoming an engineer.

On Saturday afternoon, the 15-year-old became upset that his parents had demanded he complete his household chores before he would be allowed to play video games or listen to music on his computer, according to DeWitt Lacy, a civil rights attorney representing Ryan’s family.

“He got upset. Any teen would be upset by that,” Lacy said. Some people with autism experience more heightened emotions and on that day Ryan responded by breaking glass on the front door, Lacy said.

A family member called 911 for help, asking dispatch to send deputies to “take him in” because he was breaking glass and hitting his sister, according to a portion of the call released by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

But instead a responding deputy fatally shot the teen, saying he had threatened the deputy with a garden tool.

 

Autism Decals in Miami-Dade

 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, and respond with tasers, batons, chokeholds, or worse. 

Chris Hush at WTJV-TV:

A new program in Miami-Dade County aims to save lives through a simple decal. The initiative will alert first responders to potential interactions with residents living with autism.

Approved last week by the Miami Dade County Commission, the decal is meant to be placed at the front door of a home or a car window to notify police officers and firefighters of a potential interaction with a resident living with autism.

The decal reads, “Occupant with autism, may not respond to verbal commands.”

Dr. Diane Adreon with the University of Miami’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) says the decals can aid in the training of law enforcement officers.

“There’s so many nuances that people could really not know how to react, and they could take their behaviors the wrong way,” said Dr. Adreon. “It gives people with autism or family members an opportunity to safely disclose the disability in a circumstance where they may be interacting with law enforcement.”

When it launches in April, Miami-Dade residents will be able to pick up the free decal from their local Miami-Dade Police station.

District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado says there are plans for the county to partner with agencies in other municipalities, to expand the program. She also believes this program will free up county resources.

North Miami launched a similar decal and autism outreach program in 2022 following the 2016 incident when a man with autism was shot at by a police officer after the toy truck he was holding was mistaken for a gun.  [Ed. note:  the police shot the black man who was caring for the autistic person.]

Autistic Man Trains Police in Texas

 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, and respond with tasers, batons, chokeholds, or worse. Training could help.

Brian Burns at KIII-TV in Corpus Christi:

In Graham, several years ago when a severely autistic 19-year-old man was confronted and struggled with police, police used a stun gun on him and took him to jail.

But in many cases, advocates say the person police are trying to communicate with simply may not understand what they're being told to do.

The Aransas Pass Police Department is in the process of bringing in trainer Dustin Cronan in order to help its officers navigate those barriers.

Cronan has lived with autism his whole life and hopes to help police and other first responders recognize and communicate with people on the autism spectrum, and others who have other disabilities.

"I've seen others had experiences, too, with them," he said. "Having rundowns with them. Like, say, when we get stopped, or we get pulled over or anything like that, they think we're intoxicated."

Cronan has held training sessions for multiple law enforcement groups in Nueces county. When he addresses Aransas Pass police, it will be the first such session in San Patricio County.

A Police Program in East Haven

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between first responders and autistic people. 

From the Hartford Courant:

A Connecticut police department has begun a collaboration aimed at helping it serve its residents with autism and special needs.

The East Haven Police Department collaboration includes an “innovative program” named the Linked-Autism Safety Project, according to police Capt. Joseph Murgo.

The free program, created by Ashley McClain, the mother of a child with autism, “builds a relationship between emergency responders and the members of the Autism and special needs community,” according to Murgo. “This project was created as a collaborative effort with a network of public safety professionals, autism professionals and autism parents.”

Murgo said caregivers of the East Haven residents in the autism and special needs community can register online, or at www.easthavenpolice.com, or in person at the East Haven Police Department.

“Upon completing the registration form, this information is made available to first responders with important individualized information about the person with autism and within the special needs community,” Murgo said in an email. “All registrations are secure and confidential and used only for the response of East Haven first responders.”

...

Murgo noted that every East Haven family that registers for the program will receive:

• A Family Emergency Planning Folder with individualized instructions.
• A guide that includes tips and tools to navigate this program in an emergency situation.

Murgo said the family emergency planning folders “provide an emergency preparedness social story, created by professionals, which is a personalized learning tool containing text and illustration that supports the safe and meaningful exchange of information between parents, professionals, and people within the special needs community of all ages.”

Further, the town’s police patrol vehicles will be equipped with a “sensory kit which contains a variety of sensory products recommended by professionals in the field.”

Firefighter Training

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between first responders and autistic people. 

Bella Caracta at WOWT-TV in Omaha:

 Papillion firefighters started their training Wednesday morning learning what not to do.

In 2017, a Buckeye, Arizona police officer confronted a teenage boy with autism. He ended up tackling him, and the boy sustained cuts, bruises, and an ankle injury that needed surgery. The officer claims he thought the boy was using drugs.

After showing the video Autism Action Partnership (AAP) based in Omaha encouraged metro responders to add one question to their routine: “Could it be autism?”

“You have the training to come on scene and you ask all sorts of questions to evaluate what kind of situation you’re dealing with. Where’s the danger? What do I need to do first? If we just add, ‘Could it be autism?’ to that list of questions, it’s really going to reframe the way you might approach a situation,” said Michaela Ahrens with AAP.


Throughout the month, AAP is working to help first responders improve their understanding of autism in hopes of helping those on the spectrum in an emergency safely and smoothly.

During the training, the group did interactive exercises to get a better understanding of autism. Aherns had them complete complex tasks while blaring a siren to simulate an emergency situation.

“It can be chaotic,” she said.

The exercises pushed the first responders to consider how emergency situations may further stress those with autism.

“

Autism Kits in Utah Ambulances

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between first responders and autistic people. 

Scott McKane at KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City:

Emergency medical technicians in Utah are hoping to better respond to autistic patients with special kits that are now in ambulances across the state.

John Wilson Autism Kits are now in every single Gold Cross ambulance in Utah. The kits are named after the son of a Payson paramedic who learned some crucial tips trying to calm his own autistic son during stressful situations.

Jeff Wilson learned a lot while training to be a paramedic but he said one thing he and many other EMTs were not prepared for is dealing with individuals who are on the autism spectrum.

“When you have that added layer of stress it gets really chaotic in behavior a lot of times," he explained. "It presents safety issues, on our end and on the children's or the adult's end who are on the spectrum.”

When Wilson's son, John, was diagnosed with autism, a new world of learning was opened to him.

Wilson and his wife began using American sign language and learned about tools, like colorful "popper" bracelets, that can help calm an individual on the spectrum.

So Wilson made a kit, named after his son, which also includes sound-reducing headphones and a sign language translation paper.

Blue Envelopes in Massachusetts

In The Politics of Autism, I write:

[M]any police departments have trained officers and other first responders how to spot signs of autism and respond accordingly. Some organizations have also published identification cards that ASD adults can carry in order to defuse potential conflicts. Virginia provides for an autism designation on driver licenses and other state-issued identification cards. Once again, however, the dilemma of difference comes into play. One autistic Virginian worries: “Great, so if I get into an accident, who’s the cop going to believe, the guy with the autistic label or the guy without it?” Clinical psychologist Michael Oberschneider is concerned about the understanding level of first responders: “I think many people still think of Rain Man or, more recently, the Sandy Hook Shooter, when they think of autism even though very few people on the autistic spectrum are savants or are homicidal and dangerous.”

Ilyse Levine-Kanji at WBUR-FM:

The “Blue Envelope Bill,” currently before our Legislature’s Senate Ways and Means committee, could make these potentially disastrous encounters far less likely. The bill would allow a driver with an autism diagnosis to request a blue envelope — which could be attached to the driver’s-side sun visor — to alert law enforcement of the driver’s diagnosis in case of a traffic stop or accident. These blue envelopes could help to avoid potentially tragic misunderstandings at minimal cost.

The bill has the support of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the State Police Association of Massachusetts Troopers, the Massachusetts Police Association and the Municipal Police Training Institute. The legislation under consideration is modeled after a law Connecticut implemented in 2020, at the urging of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association.

This would affect more individuals and families than you might think. About one in 36 children in the United States is estimated to have autism. And there’s a troubling connection between people with an intellectual, developmental and/or psychiatric disability (including autism) and police violence. For example, a 2016 study (that looked at data from 2013 to 2015) found that disabled individuals make up one-third to one-half of all police shooting victims. Time reported in 2020 that “there is no reliable national database tracking how many people with disabilities, or who are experiencing episodes of mental illness, are shot by police each year” (the topic for another essay) but it seems likely that disabled individuals who are also Black have an even higher likelihood of being the target of police violence.

Alabama Legislation on Police Training

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, and respond with tasers, batons, chokeholds, or worse.

Courtney Chandler at WIAT-TV Birmingham, Alabama:

A new bill by an Alabama state lawmaker will help police officers better respond to people who have disabilities.

Rep. Leigh Hulsey from Helena said HB356 will provide training for officers on how to deal with individuals who have sensory needs or invisible disabilities. HB356, also known as the Noah Cade Act, will provide officers with one hour of mandatory training every other year.

The bill is special to Hulsey because it’s her first piece of legislation she has introduced in the state house, and it’s named after her son who has autism.

Bill synopsis:

Under existing law, a law enforcement officer must successfully complete 12 hours of continuing education training approved by the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission. This bill would require the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission to collaborate with a nonprofit company to provide annual training about interacting with individuals with sensory needs or invisible disabilities. 

 Relating to law enforcement training; to require each law enforcement officer to undergo annual training related to individuals with certain sensory needs or invisible disabilities; and to provide that the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission shall collaborate with a nonprofit company to provide the training. 

 

Los Angeles Sheriff Training About Autism

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, and respond with tasers, batons, chokeholds, or worse.

Posts have discussed incidents in the following places:

• Orlando
• Richmond, VA
• Jackson County, KS
• Glynn County, GA
• Douglas County, CO
• Graymoor-Devondale, KY
• Vacaville, CA
• Metrairie, LA
• Salt Lake City
• Statesville, NC
• Buckeye, AZ

This list is not exhaustive.  Indeed, it does not even scratch the surface.

Police training could be helpful, but we also need programs to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the training.

Jessica DeNova at KABC-TV:

Some members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department participated in an immersive experience to prepare themselves to better handle people with autism and developmental disabilities when on a call for service.

The training was put together by the city of Industry, along with Kate Movius of Autism Interaction Solutions. Movius has first-hand experience because her own son is on the spectrum.

"If there's one thing you take away from the training today it is that you take your time, if it's tactically permissible, and safe for you, to slow way down," said Movius.

Kits that included items such as noise-canceling ear muffs and white boards were given to participants to help them better communicate with someone with autism.

People living with autism also spoke and gave testimonials on their interactions with law enforcement.