Arizona town creates registry, wristband for Autistics

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ASPartOfMe
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21 Nov 2017, 1:34 am

Buckeye Police create registry program for individuals with autism, other disabilities

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The Buckeye Police Department has launched a registry and identification program for individuals with autism and other conditions after a city officer mistook an autistic teen for a drug user earlier this year.

Buckeye officials said the program will help officers better manage calls and interactions. But experts and civil rights leaders worry about its implementation.

The teen’s family also believes the moves don’t solve what happened with their son.

“I think it’s disgusting that you have to label someone with a disability with a special mark so they don’t have to live in fear from being hurt by police,” said Danielle Leibel, who told ABC15 her son Connor was traumatized during the incident.

“If my son were on a registry, how would that have changed this situation at all?” she asked. “How would that have kept him safe?"

On July 19, a Buckeye Officer named David Grossman mistook Connor Leibel for a drug user. As he drove by a quiet neighborhood park, Grossman claimed he saw Connor putting his hand up to his face, giving him reasonable suspicion to handcuff and detain the boy.

But the officer lost control of the situation and the boy, causing both of them to fall into a tree. Leibel was left was scrapes across his face, arm and back.

It turned out Connor was using a small string to “stim” – a coping mechanism common for people with autism.

However, the city also announced it would train all its officers in autism awareness and launch the registry. In addition, Buckeye will send registered individuals a color-coded wristband that corresponds to their diagnosed condition.

“It sounds like an idea with good intentions but I’m curious to see how successful it is,” said Dr. Aaron Blocher-Rubin, CEO of Arizona Autism United.

According to information provided by Buckeye, the registry’s purpose is “to compile and maintain a list of individuals who have ‘Special Needs’ due to mental or neurological disabilities and who may reside or frequently visit the City of Buckeye.”

“It publicly labels someone which certainly has some drawbacks,” he said.

Most importantly, Blocher-Rubin hopes the registry and wristbands don’t replace training and awareness.

“You would hate to see that it becomes an expectation,” he said. “Hopefully, this is just some extra thing to provide some help and not over time becomes an expectation to where police say, ‘You didn’t sign up, so how did you expect us to know.’

Buckeye Police said the registry will help give officers detailed information about subjects like their triggers and how to approach them when a call comes out or if they’re reported missing.

But those scenarios don’t fit what happened to Leibel.

He was playing in a neighborhood park. Police weren’t called, and he wasn’t missing.

That’s why the ACLU of Arizona has concerns, as well.

“People with disabilities shouldn’t be required to broadcast their diagnosis to the world just because police officers have insufficient training,” said ACLU Arizona policy director Will Gaona. “I think a better solution would be to have special wristbands for officers who engage in excessive use of force so the public knows who they are dealing with.”

In the application, Buckeye said it would share the health information with other police department, leading Gaona to worry about people providing sensitive health information.

“How will this information be protected?” he said. “How will it be shared?”


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auntblabby
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21 Nov 2017, 1:39 am

this is disquieting.



underwater
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21 Nov 2017, 3:02 am

It's absurd! People with disabilities have to brand themselves publicly so that police won't attack them? How about the police talk to people in a calm and polite way instead?

What I find incredibly strange about police in the US is their habit of escalating any conflict. So much of it seems unnecessary.

This video is interesting, and the comments too. Swedish police officers on holiday in NYC, ended up having to break up a fight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBekdnGWAcs


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auntblabby
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21 Nov 2017, 10:19 am

author Anthony Burgess, decades back, predicted that in a dystopian future, cities would hire thugs for cops. this is what has happened.



TheSpectrum
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21 Nov 2017, 10:20 am

underwater wrote:
It's absurd! People with disabilities have to brand themselves publicly so that police won't attack them?

Correct. So now the police won't attack them but everyone else will.
It's genius I tell you!


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modernmax
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21 Nov 2017, 10:54 am

Now watch as every criminal gets their hands on one and use it to draw away suspicion.


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BetwixtBetween
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21 Nov 2017, 10:59 am

Had the kid been wearing a bracelet, the officer could have seen that, and the kid wouldn't have been mistaken for a drug user. Buckeye has offers the bracelet thing for bipolar individuals as well. Better training on recognizing when someone is autistic vs. a drug user (with direct exposure of the officers to autistic members of the community) would be ideal. Better care taking would also be part of the solution. I'm not going to knock the bracelet though. If a doctor knows you have allergies thanks to your alert bracelet, they change their treatment plan accordingly. If an officer knows you have autism of are bipolar they can change their plan accordingly too.

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Now watch as every criminal gets their hands on one and use it to draw away suspicion.

:sigh: Yes. I also had that thought.



EzraS
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21 Nov 2017, 12:37 pm

Well the video says it's voluntary....



jonny23
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21 Nov 2017, 1:20 pm

There are plenty of people out there that think Autistic means mass shooter or serial killer. Or worse easy prey.

I was accused by the police and by my school on more than one occasion of being on drugs. I remember my dad getting very angry once because a cop made me empty my pockets in the middle of town for no reason. I had some garbage in my pockets because I don't litter and he was stiffing it all looking for drugs.



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21 Nov 2017, 1:21 pm

EzraS wrote:
Well the video says it's voluntary....


Yes it is.

Of course you have the issue of the decision being made for a person deemed incompetent or actually incompetent to make their own decisions

While most everybody has a card with personal information on this type of card for a group does bring back memories of the Star of David put on Jews back in Nazi times.


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underwater
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21 Nov 2017, 1:26 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
EzraS wrote:
Well the video says it's voluntary....


Yes it is.

Of course you have the issue of the decision being made for a person deemed incompetent or actually incompetent to make their own decisions

While most everybody has a card with personal information on this type of card for a group does bring back memories of the Star of David put on Jews back in Nazi times.


Yes.


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EzraS
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22 Nov 2017, 3:05 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:
EzraS wrote:
Well the video says it's voluntary....


Yes it is.

Of course you have the issue of the decision being made for a person deemed incompetent or actually incompetent to make their own decisions

While most everybody has a card with personal information on this type of card for a group does bring back memories of the Star of David put on Jews back in Nazi times.


That's what I was thinking and why I added an ellipsis. And I agree with the wrongness of badging people. Hopefully no one will comply. And the cops will just have to learn to be less eager to tackle people who aren't causing harm. And I'm glad I don't live there. Their idea to try fixing their idiot cops is to come up with an idiotic plan.



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22 Nov 2017, 6:20 am

How about police officers who go OTT wearing labels instead such as “I am a trigger happy jerk” ?