13-year-old boy with autism shot by police after mother called for help

[Judi Lynn]

Source: The Hill


BY MARINA PITOFSKY - 09/08/20 02:24 PM EDT

A 13-year-old boy is in the hospital after being shot by police in Glendale, Utah, on Friday.

Linden Cameron suffered injuries to his shoulder, ankles, intestine and bladder, his mother, Golda Barton, told CBS affiliate KUTV.

Barton said she called 911 to request a crisis intervention team because her son, who has Asperger’s, was having a breakdown. She said authorities are “supposed to come out and be able to deescalate a situation using the most minimal force possible.”

She told officers that her son needed to be transported from their home to a hospital, KUTV reported. The mother said five minutes after officers arrived that she heard police say “get down on the ground,” and several gunshots.

Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/515502-13-year-old-boy-with-autism-shot-by-police-after-mother-called

[orwell]

1. More "bad apples"? n/m

[cstanleytech]

22. That or lousy training either way there needs to be major reform for a rather large number of police

departments in this country from recruiting standards to the training.

[mwooldri]

2. That could have been my youngest son :( :( :(

Remind me if I get into this level of crisis not to call for law enforcement. Fire and rescue with EMT for transport. Fortunately my son hasn't gotten that bad in his coping skills but I can see him ending up in a scenario like that. Mother needed help, not lead poisoning.

[mr_lebowski]

3. Don't call 911 I guess as that's what she did ... you don't have control over who comes out

in response, apparently.

Or if you do, maybe tell them the person is having an emergency medical problem of unknown cause.

[Stryst]

4. You may not have a choice

I worked in home health care for the last decade, and every time I called for medical services either a sheriff's deputy or a local cop showed up either with, or often before medics.

[ihas2stinkyfeet]

16. you will get a cop w the ambulance.

if i were in your shoes, which i have worn, i would talk to someone at your police district now. we have caps here in chi, but someone at your station is in charge of community relations.

in chi, the magic words are- i need a cit- crisis intervention team.
i had to call them on my son twice. 1st time to just 911 went ok, second time, asking for a cit went better. cop still pissed him off by swatting his phone out of his hand because he was videoing. if i had to do it over again, i would be the one w the phone.
but everyone was calm, and the emt's were great.

[mahina]

31. Why I love DU #765788

Thank you for responding to this DU Mom’s post w care and understanding and useful suggestions.

[ihas2stinkyfeet]

33. i love that about the place, too.

so glad to be a member, and be able to help a mom whose shoes i have worn.
having raised 5 weirdos, it makes me happy to help another mom. i didnt have a lot of help myself.

[IronLionZion]

17. 911 dispatches all 3

fire, ambulance, and police, just in case.

[mahina]

32. Good luck Mom

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🤙🏼🤙🏼

[irisblue]

5. WaPo story

Source--https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/08/linden-cameron-utah-autistic-shooting/

Title--He’s a small child’: Utah police shot a 13-year-old autistic boy after his mother called 911 for help


snip--"Barton said she’s gotten few answers from police. Salt Lake City’s mayor pledged on Sunday that an investigation into the incident would be quick."

snip--"“No matter the circumstances, what happened on Friday night is a tragedy, and I expect this investigation to be handled swiftly and transparently for the sake of everyone involved,” Mayor Erin Mendenhall (D) said in a statement to the Salt Lake Tribune."


snip--"Police were called because help was needed but instead more harm was done when officers from the SLPD expected a 13-year-old experiencing a mental health episode to act calmer and collected than adult trained officers,” Neurodiverse Utah said in a statement."

snip--"In a briefing with reporters later that night, a police spokesman suggested officers believed the boy might have a weapon. Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Keith Horrocks said officers showed up at the house after reports about “a juvenile that was having a mental episode, a psychotic episode, that had made threats to some folks with a weapon.”

More at source.


ACAB

[Scalded Nun]

6. They shot him because that is what the police do.

They care as much about human life as you care about stepping on an ant. This is a very sad story, but if you call the police for anything expect bloodshed and death...This is America.

[hunter]

7. I always think hard before I call the police.

Mostly I don't.

I've seen them shoot people.

Most cops in the U.S.A. have neither the skills nor the temperament to use guns wisely. If I was the Emperor of the U.S.A. I would disarm three quarters of them, at least.

Personally I don't ever carry a gun because I refuse to let anyone I'd care to shoot live in my head.

In my experience once the guns come out everything is FUBAR.

[CaptYossarian]

8. I'll file this with the pregnant woman and the diabetic who were both tased.

Separate incidents, of course.

Maybe Tackleberry getting that lady's cat out of the tree in Police Academy wasn't fiction.

Glendale PD will be short a lot of cash soon. Too bad. They could use it on some serious training programs.

Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Linden.

[irisblue]

9. From the local paper

Source-https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/09/07/salt-lake-city-mayor/

Title-Salt Lake City mayor promises ’swift’ investigation after police officer shoots 13-year-old boy

snip-"No weapon was found Friday, and police did not reply to questions about the shooting Monday morning.

snip-"Police have released no information about why the officer shot the boy, promising more information will be released within 10 business days when police body camera footage is released — as required by a Salt Lake City ordinance."

more at article.


Surprisingly the comments section is not locked down yet

[SharonClark]

10. Call police for help and all they know how to do is escalate a situation and shoot someone.

I hope the Mom sues them.

[Illumination]

18. Right! I smell a big lawsuit ..Mental health professionals should have been sent to

deescalate the situation. This is really sad...

[onecaliberal]

11. No fucking way I will call the police to help with my adult disabled son. NO WAY.

[TomCADem]

34. I would not blame the mom

The kid may have been threatening and violent, which is why the Mom was probably trying to get her son admitted to a psych ward. This is not summer camp. The doctors will not admit someone to a limited number of beds unless they are a danger to themselves or others.

The mom probably felt she was in over her head, which is why she was seeking assistance.

[Mike Nelson]

12. Well...

... this is part of the problem with police today. They are expected to deal with individuals like this - a 13-year-old with autism?!?! I wish the parents had known of an alternative problem-solver. Someone with knowledge about autism should have been called. I hope this community provides parents and guardians with other resources.

[irisblue]

13. Dude..did you read the original article? Mom asked for the crisis team

Snip from above.."Barton said she called 911 to request a crisis intervention team because her son, who has Asperger’s, was having a breakdown. She said authorities are “supposed to come out and be able to deescalate a situation using the most minimal force possible.”


She did request the proper help.

[Mike Nelson]

14. No...

... I did not. Thank you for the clarification.

[irisblue]

15. .

mental health calls leading to cops killing people are horribly common.
The photo of the kid in the wapo article, he is really slight.

[stillcool]

19. poor Mom...poor kid

what a nightmare. Her first day back to work. Covid has gotten everyone off kilter, but so many with special needs really need a lot of structure, a daily routine that keeps them calm. Can't imagine what that little boy will do the next time he sees a cop. Hope he's going to be okay.

[patphil]

20. So they shot an unarmed 13 year old several times.

There is a sickness in this countries police forces. Too many bad cops to be "a few bad apples". This is a national tragedy that must be addressed.

[thesquanderer]

21. And Trump will say, "See? And he was white." ALL lives don't matter. n/t

[Ilsa]

30. Yep. And trump is fine with the disabled being eliminated.

He doesn't like disabled vets being seen at parades, and would rather the US get rid of the "useless eaters." Trump is a nazi at heart.

[NoRoadUntravelled]

23. When PDs are defunded by allocating some of their budget to Social Workers, this won't happen.

This was certainly a call that would have better served the citizens had a trained intervention team of social workers been dispatched to the scene rather than police officers with no training in this type of situation.


It will happen eventually. We just have to want it badly enough and we can make it happen.

[generalbetrayus]

24. This is incredibly frightening as well as stupid. Whenever cops have to cover their asses

for overreacting, there's always "possibly a weapon involved" with the victim. I was fortunate that the police responded calmly and professionally both times I had to call them on my daughter when she was a teenager and had bad reactions to drugs she was being prescribed. Now my daughter has an autistic daughter who is 12, going on 13, and who, like the Utah boy, freaks out when she gets stressed. My daughter and her husband live in a much less progressive part of the state than I do and they would never call the cops there for fear that my granddaughter would get shot, too.

[generalbetrayus]

25. Further information from the local TV station, from the mother's account of the incident:

Additionally, she said she heard from someone that the other officer could be seen grabbing his own head in disbelief for what had happened. He said out loud, according to what the mother was told, "He's just a child, what are you doing?"

https://kutv.com/news/local/mother-of-child-shot-by-slcpd-officer-speaks-out-why-didnt-you-just-tackle-him?fbclid=IwAR2Fu9p52M949qhUdmcOhoZkLMZQJi7GkH3m06KOehqctlS7hdFPpFNAvVQ

[Proximate Centurion]

26. Kick for Original

/

[Judi Lynn]

27. Thank you, Proximate Centurion. Welcome to D.U. 👋

[Proximate Centurion]

28. Hey, No Problem!

And thank you for the greeting.

[JustGene]

29. I see this..

and I think of my Grandson, who is 6'2" and would not understand "Get on the ground"

[roman88]

35. She asked for proper help and got the cops instead

Wtf happened here? It couldnt have been a communication issue :/

[oasis]

36. What in hell were they thinking?

machine-head monsters.

[LiberalFighter]

37. Police officers solution to everything is to shoot people.

[NickB79]

38. I expect the "All Lives Matter" crowd to organize mass protest rallies

I mean, if they truly care about all lives, and weren't just using it as a poorly hidden swipe at Black people, what could be more despicable than cops shooting an unarmed, mentally ill white child?

Any minute now. Yep, any minute. Millions of protesters........