Hitting police

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I am trying to make a point that why is autism so much of a get out of jail card?

And i am high functioning.

It isn't. That's what people are saying to you. You were let off before it may not turn out that way in the future.

And this isn't or at least shouldn't be about you. It's about there are a lot of things the police should be trying to get done, to try to protect people, you needing to look to be in trouble isn't what they're there for.

Don't question it, anything is better than jail and any excuse will do. Don't be martyr, there's no point.

I nearly set a police officer on fire and kicked another one in the face during one of my sectioning under the Mental Health Act (section 136). I didn't get a criminal record for that, but it is on my mental health team's system.

I'm guessing I didn't get charged because I was acutely psychotic.

I've pushed and attacked officers during other sectioning incidents.

The only criminal record I've got is assaulting a psychiatrist while extremely unwell (I needed constant supervision by two nurses in a secure unit).

I think the police put up with more crap than the NHS who are really zero tolerance.

As i got was restrained for like 15 minutes with one police offices holding one arm and the other holding the other arm.
Then they called the school to pick me up.

Yeah, I agree, don't really question it. Before I saw this thread, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who actually wanted to get charged by police. If I were you I would really try to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again because, as others said, you may not be so lucky again next time, but I would let bygones be bygones and be darn glad those officers didn't charge me!

If I were a police officer, I personally would strongly believe in giving someone with a disorder or any other reason that caused them to not be in complete control of their behavior at the time just a warning/second chance for something they did (even putting their hands on me). However, if I knew the person had complete control over their behavior and chose to do it anyway, then they would be charged like everyone else. For me personally, intent would matter much more than anything else. I don't know the reason why you struck the officers, but I'm going to assume it was not on purpose.

Are you white? Male or female? Big or small?

IMO, don't go looking for trouble. The legal system is not the place to go for "fair treatment," or even "logical treatment." It might work out fair, but it also might not. It's like when people foolishly call the police because their developmentally disabled teen is acting up and the police come and kill them.

Count your blessings and forget about it.

If you want my honest opinion it was likely two reasons.

1.Police don't charge people for fun, they charge if they believe there is a case there. The police likely thought the prosecutor would simply drop the case due to your autism.

2.The police officers may have felt sorry for you, or felt they did not want to heap another problem on you. They likely thought you had less than normal mental capacity and were therefore not culpable, remember they are cops not autism experts or psychologists. I'm assuming someone told the cops you had autism, or it was visible to them?

Imagine a store demanding to press shoplifting charges against a toddler that ran out with something and was brought back in, they would look foolish. I'm not comparing you to a toddler, just saying how the case would look to others.

I think you should just realize you got really lucky, and move forward trying not to melt down like that again. Many cops won't be so sympathetic, not only could they press charges but they could beat/taze/pepperspray you if no one is there to inform them you have autism.

Agreed

3.

They have to deal with complete f**k wits on a daily basis


people that are not criminals
people that are breaking the law
but do not realise they are doing so

people that need help that the police are not able to provide
that it is not fair that the police have to deal with these poor, ignorred people that society
blantantly abhors!

through NO fault of their own
except on the part of the 'proposed society'
of equals

I personally strongly believe that a person's disorder should be taken into consideration when choosing wether or not to press charges and as you assume, Sperg, the police may in fact have done just that. And unfortunately yes, not all cops would do that, so you (mmcool) should be super happy about the fact that they did that.

Also, here is my personal view of what happened. Not at all do I see the officers not charging you as them using your autism as an excuse. The officers may just have felt realized that in that moment you couldn't really help your behavior. (assuming you had a meltdown) and took the fact that you are autistic into consideration. I call that being understanding and compassionate, not making an excuse, and I honestly admire them for it.. To me, someone doing something bad/wrong on purpose and then saying they have autism is using their autism as an excuse.

How often do people actually use your autism as a "get out of jail free card?"

Like it or not, the reality is that autism is defined by abnormal behavioral patterns. People are assessed and diagnosed only if they are behaving in atypical ways that fit the diagnostic criteria.

Meltdowns are not a universal trait, but some autistic people DO melt down and this is not just a matter of choosing to misbehave or throw a tantrum for effect--there is a cognitive process going on that makes this behavior qualitatively different than the same behavior would be in a non-autisitc person. Understanding that difference means that behavior that would be condemned in a neurotypical person should be forgiven in an autistic person if the behavior is the result of that neurology.

You may feel that you were given unfairly lenient treatment, but it makes sense for police to take this approach when they don't know what is going on but can see that there are neurological differences in the offender. A majority of people don't want to live in a world where people are punished for their neurological differences.

I am pretty sure that if you had hit them very hard or hurt them badly they would have beaten you severely or killed you in the process of restraining you, so the whole incident is probably much bigger in your estimation than in theirs.

In any case, it sounds like they made a reasonable choice and I am not sure why this is bothering you or what you mean when talking about this "card?"

Are people giving you all sorts of other breaks you don't deserve?
Or is it just the idea that autism is really consequential--really makes a difference and sets you apart--that you don't like?

The "Get out of Jail Free" card is from game Monopoly. This illustrative term is used in situations where a person was able to successfully evade jail through "making excuses" for criminal behavior.

I don't think, in this case, that "autism" enabled the OP to obtain a "get out of jail free card"-- rather, it was the notion that the OP was a kid at the time, and that all that was needed for the situation to be resolved was for the kid to calm down. Why ruin a kid's life when all he has to do is calm down?

Are you white? yes and vary pale.
Male or female? Male
Big or small? pretty small at about 5 foot 6 intces.

I don't think it's a good idea to hit anyone.

^^^
QFT.