I guess you really understand what happened to my friend.
I used to explain people’s intentions to him, I wish I had thought to tell him that in any circumstance he could trust the police to have his safety as their priority and that he should always trust them.
After it happened I prayed for my friend and his family...and the officers that had the weight of that horrible thing on their shoulders.
Nearly every officer in my agency has had Crisis Intervention Training, a dedicated week long class structured to teach officers to identify and resolve problems with folks with mental illness.
I think it should be two weeks. Officers need to understand that folks with autism for example will often parrot what the officer says, (echolalia) which can be misconstrued as being a wise acre.
Or that autists are runners, and this could lead to misinterpretation, foot pursuits, or God forbid K-9 deployments.
I am a better police officer for having been blessed with a special needs child.