Posted on 12/24/2006 3:18:51 PM PST by MovementConservative
PORTLAND - An autistic child was tasered by police in the early morning hours of Dec. 5, when he was found walking shirtless and shoeless down the Broadway Bridge.
According to his great-grandmother, Sir J. Millage has an extremely severe case of autism. He also has a disease where cannot feel extremes in temperature, which is why he was able to be out in cold weather without clothing. His head swerves from side to side and he has outbursts of profanity that can last from three hours to three days due to Tourettes syndrome. He has never been known to be physically violent.
When police saw the 5'10", 260 pound 15-year-old walking down the bridge, they say they were unaware of his illness. Police say it appeared he was holding a metal rod or stick. After Millage did not respond to commands, officers used tasers and struck him with a baton.
Millage lives with his great-grandmother Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith in Portland. She says he snuck out a window that night and the incident with police "tore her heart out." She says that because of his low intelligence level, he cannot respond to commands and that police should be able to tell the difference between a person who has autism and one that is high on drugs.
Smith says that her grandson now constantly thinks people want to shoot him and says he would like to return to his other home in Arizona.
Police are standing by their decision to use force, claming that Millage was acting aggressively. They say decisions must be made in a split second and they did the best they could.
260 pound 'child'? Anyone feel spun?
Tasering sounds like good police practise in this scenario.
Bully's with guns (tasers included).
I don't know much about autism, but it seems odd to me that this young man's intelligence is reported to be "too low" for him to obey commands from the police ... yet he is associative enough in his thoughts to now think everyone wants to shoot him and he wants to move to his other home in another state. Something smells a little rotten here.
But something does not seem right here.....
Millage lives with his great-grandmother Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith in Portland. She says he snuck out a window that night and the incident with police "tore her heart out." She says that because of his low intelligence level, he cannot respond to commands and that police should be able to tell the difference between a person who has autism and one that is high on drugs.
Smith says that her grandson now constantly thinks people want to shoot him and says he would like to return to his other home in Arizona.
So he can't respond to "stop", yet he can articulate that now he wants to leave and go back to his home in AZ....???
Just me, or what?
I remember a time when parents knew where their kids were and what they were doing. It was only a day ot two ago that a 15 YO kid killed an Oceanside Ca policeman.
A 260 lb 15YO would hardly look like and cannot be described as a 'child'. At best a young adult, albeit autistic. Do autistics wear a label. My SIL's brother is autistic but casual sight reveals nothing out of the ordinary.
Someone point out my errors.
I am amazed they only tasered him. Most cops woulda Glock'ed him, up to 50 times if needed.
It's his great grandmother who takes care of him.
Apparently both his mother and his grandmother are too busy or unavailable.
Great Grannie is getting ready to sue the city and the police.
Not just you ... see #24.
I've known plenty of autistic people who were quite capable of functioning in the world. When I was a factory foreman my shop tried bringing a few from a local group home to work in the shop.
I wasn't thrilled with it at first and wasn't sure I would have the patience for training but once they were trained they were some of the best employees I had.
Seems to me that all the police care about these days is giving tickets that will bring in money. You call them for a 911 and thy don't come.
Excuse me! No way a "Child" like that should be kept under anything less than lock and key and not at Grandmas. The police have no way of knowing this person is disabled, as if that makes a practical difference.
LOL, I love these type threads. This one's particulalry rich since our resident Lbretariantards can so relate to the victim. :-)
LBT
-=-=-
Actually that might be very effective. Put JOhnKErry on patroll, he'll put em to sleep in no time, or Bwarney Fwank, they'll run screaming!!
How were the police supposed to know that this very large person who was acting very strangely was not high on meth or crack or angel dust?
A couple I know has an autistic son who is nonverbal, and if I were a cop and met him in the middle of the night on a bridge while he was in one of his violent episodes, I would be afraid for my safety.
The police can't make snap diagnoses on behavioral disorders in the middle of the night -- if they stand there continuing to issue orders which he does not obey, and he turns out to be homicidal on angel dust -- they're dead.
The grandma needs to know where this young man is at night -- and needs to alert the police to his condition and that he's out wandering around, if she finds him missing despite her best efforts.
"You have a problem and need to seek help right away."
Why? Because he doesn't like cops in general or because he must take the other side?
Maybe they did. This article was not written by a police officer and we certainly don't know exactly what the report says. I will give the police the benefit of the doubt. They really could have seriously hurt or killed this young man and they did not.
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